Kinda Weird, It's Kinda Crazy, But I Think I Like It Though
by DonnyDGH
Summary: Pepperony 30-day challenge! Chapter 21's up! They're done. But what are they done with? Did they get bad news about their unborn son? Or daughter? Or are they done with something completely different like their single life. Who knows? Read to find out!
1. Nice to meet you

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, this is my try at the **Pepperony 30-day** challenge. I'm going to cheat by not updating every day, but I'll try my best to finish it before the end of November.

And I_ do not_ own the characters, unfortunately...

* * *

"Hey, that's rude!" yelled the young Miss Potts.

"Sorry." The young boy in front of her said quietly, but as soon as she turned his back to him he felt another pull at her left pigtail.

"Stop it!" she yelled again, this time more annoyed. "Stop it, or I'll tell mom!"

"I wanted to make sure it was real" the boy stated this time obviously guilty and looked down ashamed.

"Why wouldn't it be real?" asked the 5-year-old girl puzzled.

"Because it has strange color" admitted the 7-yead-old and made a weird face.

"That's strawberry blonde, and you could have simply asked instead pulling my hair!" she said matter-of-factly.

"Sorry" said he for the third time "Would you like to come and play some ball with me and my friend James over there?"

"Mom says not to play nor talk with strangers!" the girl said looking a bit sad but proud of obeying her mother's rule.

"OK, we can fix that! My name is Anthony, but everybody calls me Tony. That boy on the yellow swing is James. And the tall man with the black tie and hat over that tree is Lucas. He is my dad's driver, because daddy had to work today and wasn't able to come with me to the playground. Yeah, that happens a lot… What's your name?" asked Tony with a bright smile.

"My name is Virginia, but mommy and daddy call me –" and she was cut off.

"Ginny, come on, it's time to go home!" a very pregnant woman said from the other end of the playground.

"Well, it's time for me to go. Maybe next time." Virginia said "That's mom. She is 8 months pregnant and very soon I'm going to have a little sister" and she pointed towards a lady with a long blue sleeveless dress and a huge belly. "Bye!"

"Well, since we are no longer strangers, we'll play next time. I won't miss you with that strawberry blonde hair! Bye!" but by the time he said that she was already by her mother's side, putting on her jacket.

Little did Ginny know at this moment that the boy pulling her hair in order to check if it was real will be her boss twenty years later.

* * *

_Soooo, what do you think?_


	2. Addictions

I had a blast this morning! So, here is chapter 2! I know it's a bit OC, but I think it is OK. That's not important, your opinion is the one that counts, so I would _appreciate_ reviews! **Enjoy!**

* * *

Tony walked in his workshop. Everything was where he left it – there was an oiled piece of cloth on the desk, tools scattered on the floor and Dummy was on sleeping mode next to his couch. "Good morning, Sir." Jarvis greeted him.

"Hey, Jarvis. Put on some music." Said Tony quickly and grabbed his wrench.

"Sorry, Sir, that is unauthorized command" the AI told him, sounding as if he was telling Tony off.

"What do you mean?" his inventor asked him, looking confused.

"Miss Potts forbade me to play music for you"

"She did what?!"

"I said she-"

"Yeah, I got that! Why did she do that? No, don't answer, let me guess, I had to learn my lesson, right?"

"No. Actually, Sir –" Jarvis was cut off by Tony's groan.

"Ugh! What did I do this time?" Tony said and went out to find Pepper, apparently not waiting for answer. The very last time he got himself in that situation he had accidentally stepped on her phone and had broken it. It wasn't his fault completely. Pepper had slipped on his screwdrivers on her way down and the only thing he did was to rush and help her, but he only managed to piss her more by stepping on her blackberry. At that time she had instructed Jarvis no to turn on the lights in his workshop. But now it was the music. He couldn't work without music! He actually never told her that, but probably she figured it out. Last time he hindered her work, so she hindered his. But what had he done this time?

"Pepper!" he yelled as loudly as he could "Pepper, where are you?"

"I am in living room, Tony. Please stop yelling! My head hurts" Pepper said, but her voice had a strange sound.

Tony quickly found his way to the living room and saw her. She wasn't looking so good. She had big circles around her eyes, her nose was red and she looked tired. He immediately forgot what he came here for. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked concerned.

"I got the flu. I believe you're here to ask me about the new orders I gave to Jarvis this morning? I know you are addicted to your music, but please don't play any today. I think my head is going to explode!" she answered, not taking her eyes from her laptop.

"Forget the music. Why aren't you home, in your bed with a hot chicken soup, cuddled in a warm blanket?" her boss asked her and leaned on the doorframe with a look on his face that said 'I'm right this time, Potts!'

"I need to finish this today, Tony" and just as she said that she sneezed and coughed a little.

"You are a workaholic, you know that? You are so addicted to your work that I don't know how you would live without it" he said with his I-know-it-all voice and sighed. "Well, I can't work without music, so I'll at least make you that chicken soup."

"NO!" Pepper yelled at him. He looked puzzled. "I mean, _no_, there is no need. I'll be heading home soon. Please don't try to cook again. We had to redecorate the kitchen the last time, remember?"

"Fine! I won't cook if you get up and let me drive you straight home" Tony demanded.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous! I just have to –" and she was cut off.

"Jarvis, where do we keep the saucepan?"

"Fine! I'll go home!" Pepper said with a defeated voice.

"Well, then I'll make you soup at your place."

"Tony, you –"

"Relax, I'm kidding!"


	3. Dressing up

_Disclaimer: I still do not anything…_

* * *

Tony was in his workshop, under one of his cars to be precise, and was covered in oil and who knows what. Just as he found what was wrong with the car Jarvis spoke up. "Sir, Miss Potts is calling. Shall I take the call?"

"Yeah, put her through"

"Hey, Tony." Pepper's voice filled the air.

"Hey, what's up? Feeling better?" Tony asked, remembering that she had the flu the previous day and he had driven her home in order to rest.

"Yes, I'm fine, it was one of those 24-hours viruses I guess. Hey, listen, how soon can you come?" Pepper asked, hoping that he was free for the day. What was she thinking, of course he was free, she was his PA and she knew every single thing he had to do.

"Why? You need anything?" Tony was a bit surprised at first, but decided not to let his head go in the clouds so he kept it casual.

"I need you!" Pepper shot quickly.

"You what?" he asked in disbelief.

"You _heard_ me, I need you Tony, _now_. How soon can you be here?" she asked a bit annoyed.

"Well…" A million and one things crossed his mind as he thought to himself _'I'm laying under my car, covered in oil, who knows what I could be l laying under in half an hour'_ "I need to take a shower, so how's half an hour?"

"Perfect!" and with that she hang up.

* * *

Tony had never showered so quickly. It was 27 minutes later and he was already knocking on Pepper's door. He had his 'playboy' smile on his face and was hoping that everything will go smoothly. Pepper opened the door only to find a ridiculously looking Tony Stark. Man, she could smell his aftershave from the elevator.

"Thank God you are here" she said relieved and opened the door widely.

"Oh, yeah –" but he couldn't find his words. In front of him was a what seemed a 7-years old girl with blonde hair and big green eyes. "What the…?"

"Tony, meet my niece Kelly." Kelly shot her arm up and Tony took it for a shake. "I'm Kelly and you must be aunt Pepper's crazy boss, right?

"Yeah, ju-just call me Tony" he told the girl, but couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked just like a mini-Pepper, but with blond hair.

"Well, I need to go to the office and I need a babysitter. I'm so glad you could come so quickly. Please watch her for a couple of hours."

"Umm, sure, no problem" what else could he have said. This was definitely not what he expected.

"And no cooking! For_ both_ of you!" Pepper instructed and left.

As the door closed behind her, Tony found himself speechless. He was never speechless! "So…" he looked at her. Oh, _those eyes_! "…what do you want to do?"

"I wanna play dressing up!" Kelly stated and let out a giggle. Pepper had the very same giggle.

"You wanna what?" he asked, hoping for… well for nothing really. He didn't know what to think.

"I wanna play with my dolls. You know, dressing them up and taking them to a tea party" the 7-yeard explained.

"Oh, I can do that. I thought you wanted to dress me up and put me make up and who knows what else" he stated relived. But the moment he said that he immediately regretted it. Kelly got the most mischievous smile on her face. "_Oh, God!_"

* * *

As Pepper entered her apartment she tried her best not to fall on the floor and start laughing. In her living room was the one and only Tony Stark, having his nails painted in peach. He had glittery make up and a shiny lipstick on his face. She saw her curlers tangled in his hair and her scarf around his neck. "We haven't been cooking for your information" he told her with the most monotonic voice.

"Instead I decided to give him a beauty procedure, you know, for my birthday party tomorrow!" Kelly told her aunt with the biggest grin on her face. "Uncle Tony even let me make him a face mask with yoghurt and cucumbers!"

"Uncle Tony, huh?" asked Pepper stunned. "Wait, what? Is he coming tomorrow?"

"Of course_ I am_, Pep!"

At that moment Pepper didn't know what to do – to start laughing or crying…

* * *

And I wanted to thank you for the reviews, the follows and the favorites! You really made my day!


	4. Happy birthday!

Disclaimer! **I am cheating!** This chaterp is neither for Tony's, nor Pepper's birthday. Enjoy and please review. Should I continue writing? Am I writing them OC? Please tell me what do you think.

* * *

Pepper was having a great time. She was at her niece's birthday party. Well, it wasn't much of a party actually. It was a lunch at Kelly's favorite Chinese restaurant – the Yellow Dragon. Kelly was turning 8 and the whole day was dedicated to her. They were sitting alone at a table, decorated with balloons and Kelly was munching on a dish with rice.

"When is Mom coming?" suddenly Kelly asked.

"Well, she said she would try to leave the office earlier today, but I guess she'll be here any time now" Pepper said. "So, what have you planned for the rest of the day?"

"Mom said I had to choose between going to the zoo and going to the Barney's confection for cake." Kelly said with not so happy face. "I asked Mom if I can have both, but she told me that the grown-up think to do is to choose one thing and not be greedy."

"So, what did you decide?" her aunt asked her. She couldn't believe her sister made an 8-yeard choose between cake and the zoo.

"I choose the zoo. I've never been there! And as far as the cake, it's not like I haven't eaten any…" Kelly sighed.

"I'll tell you what! Before we go to –"

"Oh my Gosh! He's here! He actually came!" Kelly almost yelled enthusiastically, interrupting her aunt. Pepper turned around to see who got her niece so excited. Walking towards them she found her boss.

"Hey, Pep. Stop ogling me" Tony spat on his way to the other end of the table.

"I'm not ogling you, I'm shocked! I can't believe you came." Pepper asked, not trusting her eyes.

"Well, I promised Kelly, didn't I?" he said proud of himself.

"Yes, you did. And thank you so much for that." Kelly told him with the most angelic voice.

"Yes, Tony, thank you for coming here today and not forgetting yet another birthday" she glared at him "What's in the box?" she asked, well aware that Tony had very eccentric taste for presents.

"Hey, I'm supposed to ask that!" the little girl said annoyed.

"Yes, honey, you're right, I'm sorry" Pepper apologized.

"So, what's in the box?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Tony said and pushed the box a little. As Kelly opened it, the most sincere and big smile grew on her face.

"I thought I wasn't getting a cake for this birthday!" she yelled excitedly as Tony lit up 8 small candles.

"Well, kiddo, the older you grow, the less cake you are gonna get, so don't miss a chance for cake. And, what is more, what's a birthday without a cake?" he smiled at her "Make a wish."

Kelly looked down at the cake. It was simple and yet beautiful. It was covered in plain white cream and it had four small sugar roses at the right corner. On the top was written _'For Kelly'_ with red cream. "Oh, no!"

"What's wrong, honey?" asked her aunt.

"Uncle Tony, the cake is not strawberry flavored, right?" asked the girl panicked.

"Of course it's not! You did tell me yesterday that the only thing you and your aunt were allergic to was strawberries. Do you think I want to poison you on your birthday?"

"And you remembered?!" asked Pepper, not believing her ears this time.

"Of course I _did_!" Tony immediately defended himself.

"Mommy!" yelled Kelly as she jumped off her chair and ran to the door to great her mother.

"Thank you, Tony. That was really sweet of you" Pepper said the moment they were left alone. "Why did you do it?"

"To be honest, I never got cakes for my birthdays and when you lovely niece told me yesterday about her agreement with her mother, well, let's just say I had to do something. She told me all about that she has never been to the zoo and how much she wanted to go, but wanted cake as well, etcetera, etcetera" Tony half-smiled at her. "So, how come you are her favorite aunt, but you rarely have time for her and have not taken her to the zoo? She told me that she sees her other aunt more often and from what I've heard she lives out of town."

"Well, I don't think that her other aunt has such a_ crazy_ boss who hates to hear that she have plans on her own" Pepper asked and mockingly smiled at him just as Kelly returned to their table with her Mom.

"Kiddo, I gotta go. Tell me later how it went, yeah?" Tony told his blond 8-yeard old fan as she gave him a hug.

"Ok, uncle Tony. Thanks for the cake!"

"Don't mention it."


	5. Love Triangle

Just a quick word – the story is taking place after IM1 and before IM2, so that means they are _not_ a formed couple yet, but they give each other hint. And I still don't own anything.

* * *

Tony and Pepper were sitting on the couch in the living room. Tony was fixing one of his Ironman gloves and Pepper was writing something on her laptop. The news were on, but neither of them seemed to be paying any attention to the TV. Tony decided to break the awkward silence first.

"Do you know what I've been thinking?"

"Tony, I never know what you're thinking. As far as I know you can fly true the roof any time now and not come back for a week."

"I think you love Kelly more than you love me."

Pepper was speechless. "Noo, you think so?" she asked obviously sarcastic.

"Yeah, you never took me to the zoo on my birthday"

"That's because the zoo comes to _you_, Tony. Remember, 3 years ago, you wanted dancers and decided they would go well with elephants?"

"In my defense, they _did_ go well! But I mean it, you love her more than you love me."

"Well, yes. She is my niece. And you are my crazy, eccentric boss and I don't love you" Pepper said annoyed and closed her laptop in order to look at him.

He, on the other hand, gave her his puppy-dog face and looked her straight in the eye. They stayed like that for a few seconds. "You know, when we have a kid, it would be the most spoiled child in the whole world" and with that statement he turned to face his glove again.

"Tony, what are you talking about?" his PA asked him with an _are-you-high-again_ note in her voice.

"Well, one day we'll have a daughter named Emily and she would have my brains and your looks."

"I don't like the name Emily."

"I don't care. You'll get to name the boy after your father, although I think John Stark is a terrible combination."

"I wouldn't have named him John."

"Yes, you would"

"Ok, Tony, I can't believe I'm discussing baby names with you. It's getting late, so I'll head home."

"Hey, if you say you love me more than Kelly, I'll drive you home" Tony offered with a half-smile and a blind hope in his eyes.

"Goodbye, Mr. Stark, I'll get Happy to give me a ride" and with that she left him sitting alone in his living room.

"Yeah, I love you too…"

* * *

OK, _please_ give me something! Is it that bad? Or is it good? Please, please review!


	6. Christmas is coming

Thank you all so much for the reviews! You made my day!

* * *

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon. Pepper was reorganizing her closet, deciding what she would want to keep and what she would give to charity. She had just slipped on her all time most favorite summer dress, which by the way stayed hidden between her work costumes for the past two years. The dress was in very light peach, sleeveless and had a marvelous and extravagant V-neck. She pulled up the zip placed on the back of the dress and looked at her image in the mirror. God, she loved that dress! But she wasn't able to wear it because first, it wasn't proper for work and second, Tony had ruined the only shoes she got that went well with it with machine oil. She sighed. There was no point for keeping it, but she just couldn't give it away. Pepper looked at the tower of show boxes next to the door, but she knew there was no point in looking for a matching pair. Just as she was about to take off the dress, her phone rand. _'Speaking of the shoe devil_' she thought to herself when she saw her boss' name written on the display.

"Tony, this is my first day off for months. Unless you're _dying_, I have nothing to say to you" Pepper spat quickly. Why was she so angry at him?

"Sorry to bother you Pep, but do you know Christmas is only two and a half months away?"

"Yes, Tony. You are not the only one with calendar, you know?" '_Keep calm!_' she said to herself.

"What I'm trying to say is, I don't want to go to any charities or expensive parties so don't plan anything like that. You see how good am I? I'm telling you in advance that I won't go in order to save _you_ a couple headaches."

"How thoughtful of you, Mr. Stark!" yes, she was angry and sarcastic now. "What should I plan for you than?"

"Nothing!"

"Nothing?" Pepper asked confused.

"Yes, absolutely nothing! Neither for me, nor for you."

"Ok, what do I have to do with your laziness? I know you don't like me having plans, but Christmas is a family holiday, so I do plan to visit my sister and my niece" she was so angry now that she was ready to hang up.

"Can I come as well?"

"What?"

"Well, I just thought, when I was little, my dad never had time for me and my mom always had a lot of work at the end of the year, so I actually never had a normal Christmas" he was quiet for a couple of seconds. "What I'm trying to say is that, I want to nave at least one normal holiday, you know? With family, even if it's not mine, Christmas tree, Christmas carols, eggnog, ginger cookies, presents, colorful sweaters with dears on them, the traditional stuffed turkey and the whole Christmas package instead of paparazzi, half-naked models dressed in red bathing suits and booze. I was planning on having you and Rhodey here, but Christmas with Kelly sound a lot more fun!"

"Well, Tony, of course you can come" Pepper just didn't know what else to say. Suddenly the whole anger towards him was replaced with mixture of pity and love. She never thought Tony was the family type of guy and hell, he isn't! But she definitely couldn't have guessed he wanted a typical Christmas. "And by the way, the stuffed turkey is a Thanksgiving thing, Tony."

"You see what I'm talking about, Pepper?"

"Tony, there is nothing – _Ouch!_" Pepper fell on her butt with a loud_ 'Thug!'_ and her phone flew a couple of meters away.

"What happened?!" was the only thing Pepper heard from her Blackberry. "Are you okay?!"

"Yes, I just tripped over my shoe boxes trying to unzip my dress…"

"Well, from what I heard I think you need help with the zip and the dress. _I'm on my way!_"

"Tony, I don't –" but the line was already dead.

* * *

Soooo, how was it?


	7. Saving the day

It was the anniversary of his death. He died in a car crash two years ago. Pepper knew him all her life – they were in the same high school, they used to date for half an year after that, but they decided it wasn't going to work out, so they broke up. Three years later he married her sister and a few months later they told Pepper she would have a beautiful niece. She wasn't mad at all. Eric was her best friend. She was happy for him, for finding what she couldn't give him – a family. Pepper wanted a career, not babies at that time. Now, two years after his death, she couldn't help but to spare a tear for him. She was sobbing quietly at her office, her back to the door, watching the people on the sidewalk going home to their loved ones. She had a huge cup of warm tea in her hand and her shoes were long ado left under her desk. It was 7 pm and she hoped there was no one left in the building by that time. Suddenly she heard her door open.

"Hey, Pep. Nancy told me you're still here. Do you want me to give you a ride home?" this was no other than her boss. _'Weird, never seen her not working in here'_ Tony thought to himself.

"Um…" she couldn't let him see her like that "n-no, but thanks." Pepper tried to hide the sorrow in her voice, but failed miserably._ 'Please, go away, please, please, live me alone.'_ She heard the door behind her closing and she led out a sob.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yes, everything is fine, I'll call Happy to drive me home" why didn't he leave. Why didn't he just leave her be and go home?

"Turn around, will you?"

No answer.

"Pepper, what's wrong? Is it me? Sorry, I haven't meant to do whatever I have done and I –"

"It's not you, Tony" Pepper said with now more relaxed voice now.

"Then who is it? I swear I'll kill him! Who upset you? Was it someone from the office? I'll fire his all department! Was it the stupid paparazzi? I bet it was them! You can't imagine what-"

"No." All he needed was an answer as simple as that.

"Then what happened Pepper?" _'Talk to me, Pepper, I'm here for you!'_ Tony has never been is situation like this. Usually Pepper was the strong one, always knowing what to do. He was the big baby that couldn't even tie his tie properly.

Pepper turned around and stood up. Her eyes were red, puffy and still wet. She didn't know what to say to him. She was the one listening to all his wining, not the other way around. "Two years ago a friend of mine died – Kelly's dad."

Tony went to her and hugged her tightly. She didn't push him away, instead she melted in his embrace and let out a new set of tears. He listened to her uneven breathing and didn't know what to say nor think. "You know, the Big guy is not always fair. I know what is to lose a loved one, Pep, and even if I don't show it…" he took a deep breath "I know how you feel. Cry it all out, be angry at the whole damn world, break something if you want. No one can give him back to you…"

"That's OK,_ I've got you_" did she just said that out loud?! No way had she just said it to her boss.

"Yes, _you have me_" that was so not the answer either of them was expecting. "You know what helps me cheer up?" he was stroking her hair now, her soft, red, apple-scented hair.

"What?"

"How about you come home with me and –"

"Tony, no, how can you think_ that_?!"

"Let me finish! How about you come with me home, put on one of Ironman's gloves and show the world what you think? We haven't redecorated the kitchen for some time now."

Pepper burst laughing. "Tony, are you serious?"

"Deadly serious!"

"Well, I have to say no, but I'll have that in mind the next time you get on my nerves." Pepper didn't feel like crying anymore, but didn't let go of him. "Thank you, Tony. You really know how to save the day."

"For you, at any time!"

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, not leaving each other arms.


	8. Ironman untold

OK, I personally think that this is one of the funniest and fluffiest things I've ever written, so enjoy!

* * *

Pepper let out a long yawn.

"You look tired" came a voice behind her.

"Oh, hi Rhodey, didn't see you there. I get a very little sleep last night" she told him and gave him a shy smile.

"Hmm, let me guess, nightmares?"

"No, not exactly, but you could say very _disturbing_ dream" and with that she yawned again.

"Now you intrigued me" Tony said, climbing up the stairs from his workshop, entering his living room.

"Hey, Tony, I came by to leave for you same documents. The militaries want shared custody over the suit. I told them this won't work, but they insisted" he told him as he handed him a blue folder.

"I don't like being handed things, leave it on the table" Tony said with arms in his pockets. "So, Pepper, what did you dreamt about last night that was _disturbing_?"

"Oh, you know, things that are not your business, Mr. Stark" Pepper snapped at him, not taking her eyes from tablet she was working on.

"Come on, tell me!" Tony was a big child and she knew it, but hell she couldn't tell her boss that she had a very crazy and graphic dream about him, how he kissed her and did other thing to her. She tried to act normally but failed miserably. Pepper felt her cheeks getting red and hoped Tony didn't notice. "Why are you blushing? Your cheeks match your hair…"

_'Oh, God, why didn't I called sick? Yeah, now I remember, because Tony would have come to my apartment to check on me, that's right…'_ she thought to herself. "No, they don't" she tried to spare her embarrassment and put her arms on her face.

"Ohhh, you got sexual dream! Am I right?" Tony asked with a huge childish smile. "Who was the lucky man?"

"No one…"

"OK, so you don't deny that it was sexual dream" _1 point for Stark_. "Come on, who was it? Was it Happy? Did you do something in the limo?"

"Tony, only you dream about sex in limos" Pepper said with the calmest voice.

"So it wasn't only making out, it was sex?!" _point 2 for Stark_. "Was it Rhodey?" he pointed at his friend, who was now seating in one of the armchairs, silently enjoying the interrogation. "I knew you had something for men in uniforms!"

"No, Tony, now please let it go" Pepper said annoyed.

"Fine!" her boss said in childish voice and went for the stairs to his workshop. A few seconds later Pepper heard running _'Oh God'_ was the only thing she thought. Her boss' head popped from the entrance with the goofiest smile on it. "Was it_ me_?" he asked.

What could she have said to him? She decided to pretend she didn't hear him and proceeded with her work. And as if this was what he was waiting for.

"Oh my Gosh! It was me!"_ point 3 for Stark_. "What did we do? Was it nasty? Where were we? You already said it wasn't in the limo, so where was it? Was it in the workshop? No, it was the office, wasn't it?" he was really enjoying that. He could have continued like that for the rest of the day if Pepper hadn't said anything.

"Tony, I asked you to let it go" she told him, now her cheeks more red than ever.

"I can't believe it!" he continued to smile like an idiot and started going down the stairs one more time.

"Hey, Pepper, don't worry, he also have dreams like that about _you_" Rhodey said from his observant place.

Tony came in the room again, now faster than ever. "You promised not to tell!"

"Well, Tony, it is only fair if you tell Pepper about it, isn't it?" his friend told him with the face that said _watcha-gonna-do-now_.

"Now you intrigued_ me_" came Pepper's now calm voice as she looked at Tony.

"I hate you, Rhodes!" Tony said, obviously embarrassed. And he was Tony Stark for crying out loud! He was never embarrassed.

"Yeah, I know. But come on, tell her. Tell her about the first time you ever dreamt her. From what you told me, it wasn't sexual, so I think you don't have what to be embarrassed from" he gave Tony a devilish smile.

"Yeah, Tony, tell me" Pepper insisted.

"No way!"

"Oh, come on, I'll tell you what I dreamt if you do." God, this woman knew how to manipulate him.

"Promise?"

"_Promise!_"

"Hmm, it's not worth it" Tony said after a few seconds thinking, gave her a half-smile and went to his workshop for the last and final time.

"That was weird" said Pepper and looked at Rhodey.

"Hey, don't look at me, I promised not to tell, but I think you'll find out soon enough" and with that he stood up. "I gotta go, see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Rhodey."

* * *

Tony sat at his desk and put his head in his hands. God, he had long forgotten about that particular dream of his.

_"You got a family?" asked Tony._

_"Yes, and I will see them when I leave here" told him Yinsen. "And you, Stark?"_

_"No" he answered quietly._

_"So you're a man who has everything, but nothing."_

God, why couldn't he save him as well?!

_"We gotta go. Come on, move with me. We got a plan, and we're going to stick to it" yelled Tony._

_"This was always the plan, Stark..." Yinsen said._

_"Come on, you're going to go see your family. Get up" the young genius instructed him._

_"My family is dead, Stark... and I'm going to see them now. It's okay, I want this... I want this" everything went silent for a couple of seconds._

_"Thank you for saving me" was the only thing Tony could say._

_"Don't waste it... don't waste your life, Stark."_

Tony promised himself he won't. That's why he did build the suit in first place. He remembered going to sleep the next night thinking of Yinsen's last words and about how he had to buy more cheeseburgers. He dreamt about Pepper for the first time then. He dreamt they were married and had a daughter. The three of them were sitting around a table, eating homemade cheeseburgers and laughing. Then they went and sat in front of the fireplace and Tony grabbed a blanket. His two girls cuddled in his arms and they watched the fire. Suddenly a group of terrorist barged in and took his daughter and his Pepper. He couldn't reach them in time. Then he heard a gunshot and woke up. It was by far his most awful nightmare. He then understood that_ he had a family_ – Pepper. She was _all_ that he had…

Tony groaned loudly and turned around, ready to break something into pieces. He didn't even know why he was so angry. He saw Pepper typing in her code and entering his workshop. "I'm going home. Do you need anything before I go?"

"No."

Pepper nodded, closed the door and left. Tony stared at the door for a few seconds. "Actually _yes_, I need to hear that _you love me_…"

* * *

Did I do well? Well enough for a review maybe?


	9. Tony, the chef (IM2)

That's my first try writing _'on a movie scene'_ fanfic, so please have that in mind and please read, review and enjoy.

* * *

Tony knew the basics of cooking – oil for frying, water for boiling, no metal things in the microwave (he actually learnt that the _hard_ way), no deeply frozen goods directly in the oven, etcetera, and etcetera. He was like a child – he loved trying new things. But apparently he cooked like a child as well – the kitchen (_if_ it was there in the end) was always a mess, and his creations – slightly burned or uncooked. But that didn't seem to bother him. He cooked _'with love'_, only for people who he _loved_. Rhodey still told people about the birthday Tony tried to make him a cake. Yeah, they both got food poisoning and ended up in the hospital at the end of the day, but it was a great gift. Since that day Tony only tried to cook small things – things he couldn't mess up too much like omelettes, pancakes, toaster waffles, sandwiches, grilled cheese and even once he made French fries. He sucked at cooking and he knew it. Pepper knew it as well. But she couldn't possibly tell him that. No way would she kill his enthusiasm!

The very first time Tony cooked for Pepper was the first time he messed up. He had to go to a charity benefit that she had been planning for months, but apparently he had been too hanged-over to even get out of bed. The next day when Pepper entered the mansion she was greeted by the smell of something burning. Tony had made her pancakes in order to say_ 'Sorry'_. She knew very well that he was unable of pronouncing this particular word. She silently received his apology by simply giving him a smile and everything went back to normal.

Tony knew he had to tell Pepper he was dying at some point. But he knew he couldn't say it just like that. When he entered the plane that day he decided that it was the perfect moment to tell her about the stupid palladium poisoning. But again, he couldn't just sit next to her and say it _'Hey, Pep, I'm glad I made you CEO and by the way, I'm dying.'_ Hell, even he wasn't that naïve. He then got a marvelous idea! He would cook something great for her, and then she would ask him what's wrong and that's when he'll tell her. Indeed, he was a genius!

When Tony entered his private jet, he went to the kitchen. He opened the plane's fridge with the idea of making an omelette. Yes! There were eggs! Even better – there was a whole box of them. Tony took the fire-extinguisher from the hallway – just in case and put it next to the stove. Then he cracked 3 eggs – oops, he dropped some eggshells._ 'Ok, there are 30 more eggs, Pepper deserves the best'_ he thought to himself and threw the eggs away. Second try – _'ok, no eggshells this time'_. He stirred the eggs and oops – too much salt. His third try was too oily, the forth omelette got extremely burned, the fifth one got stuck to the frying pan. Finally, his thirteenth omelette wasn't bad at all. It was actually pretty great.

Tony arranged his latest creation in a big white plate, put a cover over it, got a napkin, fork and knife and went to serve it to Pepper. _'Pepper, the palladium in the ark reactor is killing me.'_ No, he couldn't spit it like that. _'I'll improvise'_ he decided and stopped in front of the sitting area. Pepper was watching the news. The lovely senator Stern was talking about his suits. God, why was she listening to that? They both knew the senator _won't_ have it his way.

"Mute" Tony said as he entered the sitting area. "They should be giving me a medal, that's the truth."

"What is that?" Pepper asked confused, looking with a bit of disgust at the covered plate her ex-boss was caring.

"This is your" he removed the cover "in-flight meal." Tony got the most adorable _I'm-proud-of-myself_ face.

Pepper looked around amazed. "Did you just make that?" she asked, surprised that Tony has actually cooked and they were _still_ in the air.

"Yeah. Where do you think I've been for three hours?"

Pepper smiled at him. There was something wrong. "Tony, what are you not telling me?"

_'Ok, time to improvise.'_ "I don't wanna go home. At all. Let's just cancel my birthday and-and just go to Europe, let's go to Venice."

_'Oh, Tony, you don't know how much I would love to spend another weekend with you in Venice, but it's just not the right time'_ thought Pepper. _'Maybe we can go there for our honeymoon? Oh, my God, Potts, what are you thinking?!'_

* * *

So, Pepper is thinking of another weekend spent with Tony in Venice... a_ romantic_ weekend of course! But, hey, what _do you think_ of the story so far. Please tell me how am I doing. Is it _bad_? Is it _good_? I'm trying my best, but your reviews really make my days. I won't be mad if you tell me that the story is not good or that I'm not writing them properly, so_ please_ review.


	10. Come back home (During The Avengers)

Author's note: Pepper and Tony did** NOT** kiss at the end if IM2! They are **not** a couple... _yet_! Have that in mind.

* * *

Tony felt guilty. This feeling was new to him. He felt selfish. But why did he felt selfish? He did save the world a few hours earlier. Hell, he flew to God knows where with that missal, not even hoping of saving himself. Yet, the odds were on his side and he lived. It is true that the last and only thing that came to his mind was Pepper. He tried to call her, but she didn't pick up. Then Jarvis told him the signal was lost. When he realized that he probably would never see her again or never hear her voice again made him feel dead inside. He didn't care that he'll die. He only hoped she'll forgive him someday.

* * *

He let go of the missal. Everything blew up. He closed his eyes. _Was this the end?_

Tony felt something warm. Someone was holding his hand. He slowly opened his eyes and there she was – his Pepper, more beautiful than ever. He couldn't see where they were and quite frankly he didn't even care. Why was everything so _white_? He looked at her.

"Pepper, I –"

"Don't speak, Tony. You don't deserve to be here. _Wake up!_ Wake up and use that goddamned piece of metal that got you here! Because I swear, if you don't come back, I will never forgive you!"

"Pepper, I –" he tried for second time.

"_Wake up!_ And come _home_!"

"Wake up…" he repeated. "Wake up…"

Tony opened his eyes once again and remembered where he was. He looked down and saw the portal closing. _'Come home'_ he could hear Pepper's voice in his head. With a final push he activated the backup power of his suit and felt his life energy leave him.

* * *

"Aaargh!"

"What the hell?! What just happened?" Tony jumped up. Where was he? He looked around and saw his teammates. So he made it home after all. He made it back to her. "Please tell me nobody kissed me!"

_He was home!_

* * *

Tony walked in the Stark tower, or at least in what was left of it. He knew that she would be waiting for him. He knew she would be mad at him. He walked in the lobby and saw her there, sitting at a big black leather couch, her face as pale as a sheet, eyes red and puffy and her whole body was shaking. He now understood why he felt so guilty. How could he have done this to her? Pepper saw him entering. She looked at him with both anger and love. She didn't know what to say, what to do, how to react. She wanted to go there and hug him, tell him how much she loved him, kiss him and then tell him how stupid he is. He stopped a couple of meters away from her. "Sorry" he said. That was the first time ever he had said that to her. Actually it was the first time he had said it to anyone. Pepper let out a new set of tears, stood up and hugged him. He took her in her arms, slowly stroking her hair. "I'm sorry, Pepper. I'm so sorry."

"I thought-I thought –" she couldn't find her words. "I thought I lost you forever! How could you?! Are you insane?"

"I'm sorry, Pepper… I understand that my actions –"

"No, you actually don't! I am in good terms with saving the world and all, but did you have to fly into the hole, or portal, I don't even know how to call it! How can you imagine –" Pepper kept talking and talking. Tony stopped listening to what she was saying long time ago. The still were half-hugged, he still held her in her arms, she still got hers tangled around his neck._ 'God, she is so beautiful when she is angry'_ Tony thought to himself._ 'I wonder what she's saying. Does she ever gonna forgive me? Of course she will – as soon as she gets it all out and say to me what she thinks she'll let it go. I wonder when she'll stop talking. Do I have to shut her up first in order to tell her how much I love her? Maybe a kiss would work…"_ Tony suddenly felt it was the right moment to tell her how he feels. He closed his eyes, slowly leaned forward and…_ 'Smack!'_ What the…?! Did she just _slap_ him? Tony opened his eyes and felt his left cheek burning. He put his hand over it, just like a child and looked at the very calm Pepper staying before him. "Did you understand me?"

"Yes" _No!_ What was she saying again?

"And you promise?"

"I do"_ I don't._ What do I promise again?

"Good." And with that Pepper took a step back. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts." '_No, it won't. Don't leave, stay with me, lets have this night to ourselves...'_


	11. Is that ketchup on my shoes!

I had a lot of fun writing that chapter. Hope you like it!

* * *

She was already late. She was supposed to be flying to Japan right now, but instead she was waiting for Tony. He decided that he was hungry, so he made himself a sandwich and Pepper was not in the mood for arguing so she just quietly waited. Tony wasn't in a hurry at all. He carefully put the ham on the bread, then humming he started slicing a tomato. When he was done with that he poured at least half a bottle of ketchup on top of the tomato. 'Breath, Pepper, just breath' Pepper thought to herself 'you are not going to argue, there is no time for that.'

"You hungry?"

"No, Tony, please hurry up, we are already late."

"Relax, Pep. It's called _private_ jet for a reason. And you cannot argue with me on this one, you know how much I hate airplane food!"

"Isn't that why you hired a cook, you know, for the airplane? So that you won't have to put up with airplane food?"

"Yeah, but it's still made on the airplane, so it reminds me of airplane food."

Tony was now standing right in front of her, holding his overketchupped sandwich with both his hands. He took a bite and all of the ketchup and tomatoes and god knows what else felled on the ground with loud _'Shlock!'_.

"Please tell me that you didn't just ruin my shoes" Pepper said with the calmest voice ever.

"Umm…" Tony looked down. Her whole left foot was covered with the content of his sandwich. He just stayed there, not knowing what to do with his mouth full. "Nwo, I dwidn't."

"You are unbelievable!" she was now yelling. Pepper turned around and slipped on what seemed to be a tomato slice. She ended up on the floor. Tony rushed to help her, but the tomato on the ground tricked him as well and he felled right on top of Pepper, sending what was left of his sandwich on Pepper's hair. She felt the cool sauce slowly spreading in her hair. Tony was laying on top of her, apparently not eager to get up any time soon.

"Pepper?" he asked, noticing her nose wrinkle and her cheeks getting redder and redder by the second.

She didn't even look at him "Get up!"

"You promise not to hit me?"

She glared at him.

"You promise not to hit me with _hard_ and _pointed_ things?"

Again, not a word from her. She was just looking at him as if she was going to bite his head off any time now.

"All right" Tony said and slowly got up. She sat on the floor.

"Tony, I'm a mess. What part of _'we are late'_ you did not understand?!" Pepper tried to clean herself with a napkin, but failed miserably. "I am going to take a shower and then change. I want you to call the airport and tell them we are going to be late."

Tony just stood there, nodding guilty. "Wait, you are going to change? In what? I don't say you won't look good in my old jeans, but I'm just curious."

"I have a suit in the hidden in the house, Sherlock! For emergencies like this."

"Oh, so it was yours then" he stated silently, but Pepper heard him.

"What do you mean? What did you do with it? No, actually, I don't want to know. I'm going to shower and then I'll change and then we'll go to the airport. I don't want to hear a sound from your mouth until we enter the airplane, am I clear?"

"Yes" Tony answered like a child that has been told off by his parents.

Pepper went up the stairs and went to his room. God, she was so angry at him. He was like a big child, a genius one, but still a child. He had been hungry. Ok, she gets it, but 'the airplane food makes me sick, even if it has been just cooked by an amazing Italian chef ten minutes ago' part – not so much. But ok, ok, she would put up with that, Tony was hungry, a sandwich won't hurt anybody (that's what she previously thought), so let's not argue with him. But come on! For a genius he should have known that with so much sauce everything would fall out. And as if a sick joke of the faith she had decided to wear her new Gucci shoes. If he only knew how much they cost! She carefully took off her blazer – it was ruined. Then she took off her top – also ruined. She then looked at her shoes, her brand new, ruined, never-to-wear-again shoes. If only she was licensed to own a gun and use it! Her skirt, which ironically was white, had taken the biggest hit – there was a huge red line lengthwise. And she also couldn't believe that Tony had found her hidden suit. He never went to the laundry room. Pepper didn't think Tony knew it existed actually. And what had he done to the suit?! No, no, she didn't want to know. She grabbed a cotton white towel, took off her remaining clothes and entered the bathroom. On the one side of his douche cabin she saw his shampoo and douche gel. She knew that there also were a whole collection of products for women, so that Tony's guests would feel comfortable, but she was unable to find it. Did Tony throw it away? It was true that he hadn't had female guest for some time now, but she was expecting that very soon he would renew his tradition of 'different night – different girl'. She didn't give much of a thought about it, turned on the hot water and started showering.

* * *

Downstairs Tony was mad. Mad at himself, that is. He did a very, very stupid thing. Now Pepper was angry at him and he didn't want to fly with an angry Pepper. That was no fun at all and he knew it. Of course that suit was hers! But he had to jump to conclusions that some random chick had forgotten it and when Pepper sees it she would think that Tony had started sleeping with random girls once again and that would kill any chance he had with her. He sat on the couch for a few minutes and when he heard the water upstairs running he stood up and went for the stairs. He decided that he'll use the time while Pepper was in the shower to find her something to wear. He slowly opened the door to his bedroom, sneaked in and closed it again. Since when was he sneaking in his own room?! He opened his wardrobe and looked inside: suit, suit, suit, emergencies' Ironman suit, another black suit, white suit, checked suit… He won't find anything in here. He turned around for his for-work wardrobe and peeked inside. He found worn-out jeans that would work great for Pepper. Ok, now a top. After a few-seconds digging he took out his lucky 'Black Sabbath' T-shirt and placed it on the bed, next to the jeans. And shoes! He got his sneakers from under the bed and placed them next to Pepper's heels. _'She is probably the maddest about the shoes'_ he thought as he picked the ketchup-free right shoe and took a shot of it. He would make sure she gets the same shoes next week as an _'I'm sorry'_ gift. Just as he pressed the Capture button he heard the water stopped running. He headed for the door, but he was too late. In front of him was staying a very wet Pepper in nothing but a towel.

"Pepper" he said swallowing hard, with the calmest voice he could achieve at this moment. His eyes went down to the miniature towel covering her body, her long perfect legs and her fine figure. God, how he wanted to grab her, throw her on the bed and kiss every single inch of her body, then make love to her, all day long and all night long and then…

"Tony" his train of thoughts stopped. He looked at her eyes. She was blushing. And she was getting cuter and cuter, sexier and sexier with every second. Thank God he had some self-control.

"I-I got some-some clothes for you. The-they are on-on the bed." He was madly in love with this woman!

"Thank you" suddenly all her anger vanished. They stayed like that for merely a minute. "Do you mind getting out, so I can change?"

"Yes" Tony was sent back to reality. "I-I mean no." And with that he left the room. It was going to be a long flight.

Pepper came downstairs a few minutes later. "I have some spare clothes in the airplane, so it won't be so much of a problem" she said. Tony didn't see the problem. She looked great in his clothes. He would gladly give an arm and a leg to see her coming down that staircase every day, dressed in his jeans and T-shirt. "Why are you smiling?" Pepper asked.

"You look great."

"I'm still mad at you, so don't think you're going to get out so easily. Flattery won't work with me" and with that she gave him one of her half-smiled, patted his shoulder and headed for the door. He got his chance to have a good look at her six, which looked amazing even in his old baggy jeans. He felt it was right to tell her that. And maybe tell her that he loved her…

"Pepper" he started "I got something to tell you."

"Don't you even dare tell me you are hungry again!" she snapped immediately at him.

"I…" well, maybe there would be more accurate moment to share his feeling with her. "You…"

"Move it, Stark! We are going to be late!" she said, exiting the mansion.

"_Private_ jet, Potts. Which part of that did you not understand?!" he groaned and headed for the door as well.


	12. Jealousy

She hated how the stupid reporter was drooling all over him as if he was a piece of meat and she – a hungry hyena. And what was irritating her even more was that Tony was enjoying himself. He smiled at the redhead that was taking the interview so charmingly, from time to time he winked at her and he obviously was flirting. Pepper was sitting at the bar, watching from a distance. She couldn't wait for the interview that Tony was giving for 'People' magazine to finish so that she can see what he will do. Will he buy the girl a drink and take her home, even though Pepper thought he decided to stop doing that or will he say a _'Goodbye'_ to the pretty lady and leave the table.

Pepper turned around as another board member approached her. She greeted him politely and smiled. After all, it was a 'Stark Industries' event and she as a CEO had to get the chance and thank everyone for coming. "Good evening, Mr. Johnson. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Oh, yes, Miss Potts. It is a marvelous party. But a came here to ask you, are you having a nice time. I know how much work is required in order to organize something like this and you did a great job" the 50-and-something old man told her with the friendliest expression. "So, my question is, why is such a bright diamond like you sitting all by herself tonight. And please, do not get me wrong, I'm way out of your league, but how about I buy you a drink and is a thank you, you give me one of your smiles, huh?" the man asked and Pepper felt a smile slowly finding its way on her face.

"Thank you. That would be lovely" Pepper said.

Mr. Johnson and Pepper exchanged a few more kind words and then the board member left the CEO and returned to his table. Little did Pepper know, Tony was watching her and he wasn't happy at all. _'So, she would talk with every single person but me and she will let every men in the room buy her a drink, again except me'_ he thought to himself. At that very moment he felt Amelia's (the reporter's) foot at his knee. Slowly, he felt it moving upwards. A mischievous smile crossed his face and he leaned forward. If he was in any other situation, he would tell the girl that he was not interested, especially with Pepper in the room, but that evening he was jealous of Pepper. And why? He did not know. She was wearing a black dress that made her look like a goddess and she was talking to absolutely everyone but him. As if she was doing it on purpose. He knew that as the CEO she had to thank everyone for coming and etcetera, but he was one of the guests as well and he still did not get his '_Thank you_'. Tony directed his mind towards the lady in front of him. The interview was over a long time ago and now Amelia was talking about her dog. Tony didn't hear a word she was saying but he kept smiling. He wanted to make Pepper jealous, so he let Amelia's foot travel up and down his thigh, not doing anything about it. In the corner of his eye he saw Pepper approaching them, her usual smile on her face. _'Win!'_ he thought.

Pepper saw that the redhead's foot was laying somewhere between Tony's legs. The event was a success and she was happy, but the jealousy was eating her. She decided it was time to head home before she did something stupid. Of course, she would leave as_ the winner_ in this jealousy game. Pepper stood up, took her purse and headed in Tony's direction.

"Good evening" she said as she reached the table. "I believe we haven't met. My name is Pepper Potts" she said to Amelia.

"Hello. Tony told me a lot about you" Amelia said. "It's an honor to meet you. I'm Amelia Peterson" the redhead said and then the both ladies handshake.

"Oh, he did?" Pepper looked at Tony who acted as if he didn't know what they were talking about and took a sip of his drink. "Well, I am sorry that I do not have time to sit and chat with you, but unfortunately I feel a bit under the weather. I wanted to thank_ both_ of you for coming tonight."

"Are you okay?" Tony asked, now completely ignoring Amelia. All his jealousy vanished.

"Yes, I am fine, thank you for asking" Pepper answered, not losing her professionalism.

"Well, I would be more than happy if you consider giving an interview for our magazine one day, Miss Potts" Amelia said.

"I'll think about it. Have a nice evening Miss Peterson, Mr. Stark" Pepper smiled and headed for the exit.

Outside Happy was waiting for her in the limo. Pepper got in the car and felt her cheeks getting red. Why did she have to lie?

"Heading home, Miss Potts?" Hogan asked, ready to start the limo.

"Yes, just a second." Happy obeyed and they waited in silence. 24 second later Pepper saw Tony coming out of the building _alone_. "I'm good to go now, Happy" she said, satisfied with the way it all turned out. She was indeed leaving as the winner. The driver started the vehicle and Pepper headed home.


	13. Hundred times smaller, Potts!

"Tony, come up here now!" Pepper's voice was unusually high-pitched.

Tony was in his workshop, working on his suit. When he heard Pepper's yell he stopped the saw he was working with, took off his safety goggles and listened carefully. Was he hearing thing? Pepper never yelled. Even when she was mad she kept her professionalism.

"Tony!" he panicked yell came again "Hurry!"

Now he was sure he wasn't hearing things! Pepper was yelling as if she was scared to death. Was someone in his house? Was somebody trying to hurt her? Tony took the stairs with four big jumps and reached the living room. There was neither thief nor killer in the room. He only saw Pepper, panic in her eyes, sitting on the couch, doing her best not to move.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?!" Tony immediately flew to her side and hugged her. She didn't react. "Pepper, talk to me!"

"The-there is some-something…" she started obviously scared.

"Where?"

"Be-behind the armchair…" her skin was pale white and her hands were slightly shaking. Tony went slowly and carefully to the mentioned piece of furniture, ready to punch whoever jumped from there.

"Is it big?" he asked her, thinking that a thief twice his size will jump at him any moment now.

"Huge! Tony, be careful!" Pepper instructed.

Tony did a final step and found himself behind the armchair. There was absolutely nothing there. He turned around and looked at Pepper puzzled, which was still panicked.

"What am I supposed –"

"There!" Pepper yelled and cut him off. She was pointing towards a little bug, flying in the air. Tony had scared it and now the bug was looking for a new place to land.

Tony was stunned. Pepper was scared of a tiny flying bug? Really? "Did you call me up here in order to kill a bug?" he asked, hiding his laughter.

Pepper did not find his comment funny. "You won't be killing it. The poor thing has no fault that it got in here. You'll catch it and then you'll set it free!"

Tony didn't know what to say. He took an empty cup from the coffee table, caught the bug and sat it free. Then he returned to the living room only to find completely calm Pepper, working on her laptop.

"How can a bug scare you so much? It's at least a hundred times smaller than you!" Tony said and then he got that smirk on his face.

"Oh, really?" Pepper was now looking at him. "There is a spider on your shoulder."

"Where?!" Tony yelled. He jumped and started hitting his shoulder. "Get it off! Get it off of me!"

"Relax, you big baby. I'm kidding." Pepper said and looked at laptop screen once again. "Besides, how can you be scared so much? It's probably hundred times smaller than you" she said mockingly.

"Hey, there is a big difference! On Animal Planet said that 47% of all spiders are poisonous!"

"And what? Other bugs are not?" Pepper answered him. "By the way, since when do you watch Animal Planet?

"Since I lost the TV remote. But that's for other day. My point is there are many, many poisonous spiders!"

"Ok, ok, I won't argue with you. I'm scared of flying bugs, you're scared of spiders. It's natural to be scared of something."

"I'm not scared of spiders!"

"Yes, Tony, you are."

"I am not!"

"There is a huge yellow spider on your shoe" Pepper was now looking him in the eyes.

"I know you're lying" he said and crossed his arms.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not" she was now teasing him. "Care to not believe me?"

"Yes" Tony stated and kept looking at her. A few seconds passed by.

"Ohh, it's big" Pepper said looking at his leg with disgust "and it started climbing up."

At that point Tony couldn't help himself and looked down.

"Aha!"

"I knew you were lying, Potts!"

"And I knew you were scared of spiders! The almighty Ironman, The one and only Tony Stark is scared of spiders!" she said happily.

"Sometimes I hate you Pepper!" Tony said and headed for his workshop.

"I love you too!" said Pepper and the smile of her face got lost. Did she just say that? To him? Will he get the joke? _Or was it a joke?_ Tony stopped dead at his tracks, turned around slowly, looked at her and then continued on his way as if nothing happened. _But was it nothing?_

* * *

_Ok, I have planned something really big for the next chapter, so don't miss it!  
_


	14. Nightmare? Or is it?

"Pepper! Pepper, open up! Pepper! Pepper, you there?"

Pepper was asleep. It was 3:30 am after all. She heard yelling and knocking but thought she was dreaming. But when she heard the bell the jumped scared and took a look around. She was in her bedroom, sheets tangled around her and it was dark outside. She glanced at her alarm clock and it was showing 3:32 am. At the very same moment she heard another yell "Pepper, open up!" followed by a loud knocking. "_The hell…?_" was the only thing she could say at that moment. Pepper made her way to the front door and without even taking a look through the peephole because she had only one person in mind that would bother her in the middle of the night, she opened the door. She thought correctly – there was the one and only Tony Stark. She didn't even get the chance to open her mouth, because Tony took her in his embrace and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, my God! You scared the hell out of me! Don't ever do that again!" he said obviously worried and again before she could say something she heard another voice coming from behind her boss. It was her neighbor – Miss McLane, a woman around her 70s with a white hair and big glasses on her face.

"Potts, fix your boyfriend drama during the day!" yelled the old lady obviously annoyed.

"Oh, he is not my –" but Pepper was cut off once again as her boss let go of her.

"Sorry for waking you up! And that is what we intend to do now, thank you" said Tony in order to shut both of them and closed the door of Pepper's apartment behind them.

"Tony, what the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night? Are you nuts?" she asked angrily.

It was then when Tony actually looked at her. She was dressed in pinkish shorts and white t-shirt which was perfectly showing every curve of her fine body. Thank god she hadn't taken off her bra the previous evening! Her hair was in a ponytail and she was angry and confused as hell.

"I had a dream about you. You were with me when I went to Afghanistan. They kidnapped you from me! A-and, and you were gone. I-I couldn't reach you and-and then the stupid missal blew up and-and…" he was breathing heavily and hugged her again. "And then I tried calling you but you didn't pick up and the long story short, I panicked and here I am now" and as he said that he smiled sleeplessly and looked her in the eyes.

"Tony, I am fine." She could see that he was indeed scared for her and found herself completely speechless. They stayed like that for few seconds and just than she noticed that he had a backpack on his shoulder and a pillow under his arm. "What's all this?" she asked confused.

"Oh, I'm spending the night here." He told her and went to the couch. Than he put his oversized pillow on it, his backpack down, took off his shirt, sat on the couch, turned her head to her and gave her one of her most sincere smiles.

She lost her ability to speak for a few moments and just watched him shocked. "You are _what_?!"

"I'm spending the night here."

"Tony, I'm sorry that you had such a nightmare, but don't you think that's a bit crazy?"

"Nope. I'm too tired to drive back home. It's a long drive, you know."

"Yes, I know, but you didn't have to come in first place. Tony, please go home and let's forget about this. I'm fine, you see?"

Her words seemed not to reach him because he lied down and said to her "Good night to you too and please turn off the lights."

"Tony, -" and he cut her off again.

"I said good night!"

She found it impossible to argue with him so early in the morning. Pepper turned off the lights, went to her bedroom and angrily shut the door behind her with a loud _'Thug!'_ She told herself she was going to deal with him in the morning – after a good night sleep. She got in her bed and just when her head found her pillow she heard a _'Smash!'_ followed by _'Son of a…'_ coming from the living room. Pepper couldn't help but chuckle a bit and she prayed to find her home in one place in the morning.

* * *

When Pepper woke up the next morning the sun was shining and the traffic was making an awful noise. She jumped out of bed and closed her bedroom window. She couldn't remember opening it though. She had just reached back her bed when she realized she had overslept. The clock was showing 9:26 am. Pepper let go of her hair and started combing it. As she was doing that she felt a strange sweet scent in the air. It smelled almost like…"Pancakes?" she said out loud. And then it hit her. So she wasn't dreaming after all. Tony had indeed spent the night on her couch. She put the hairbrush on her nightstand and headed for the door.

Pepper went to the kitchen and found herself speechless. There was Tony, still shirtless by the way, wearing her pink apron, putting a pancake on top of few others. "Good morning! Slept well?" he asked if he did that every morning. Pepper was still speechless. She wanted to grab her camera and just shoot him – a shirtless Tony Stark making a breakfast for her in her kitchen in the morning. "I called the office to tell them you're sick and I also turned off your alarm. I believe you deserve a day off."

"You've been in my bedroom?" was the only thing that reached her mind. _'I hope I wasn't drooling.'_

"No, Potts, the magic elf from your closet opened the window to let in some fresh air and put a blanket over you." He said that with so even voice that Pepper almost believed him. "Of course I went to your bedroom, Pep, why wouldn't I?"

"Never mind. Thanks for the breakfast by the way."

"Yeah, I planned for it to be a _'breakfast in bed'_ but you are indeed an early riser" he smiled weakly at her. "Oh, and by the way, that is my first try and I still haven't had a faulty pancake!" he said, proud of himself.

"Well, good for you! I'm going to use the bathroom, please put something on" she stated, turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. Tony couldn't help but to give a good look on her six.

Pepper entered her bathroom, closed the door and looked at herself at the mirror. "What you got yourself into, Potts" she muttered under her nose, but still loud enough for Tony to hear.

"What?" he asked.

"I said put your shirt on!" answered Pepper. As reached for her toothbrush she found yet another surprise. Next to her orange one, there was a gold toothbrush. Pepper hurried up and when she was finally ready she opened the door and returned in the living room. "Tony, why is there a gold toothbrush in the bathroom?" Pepper asked and crossed her arms while walking the rest of the way to the kitchen.

Tony looked at her when she reached the door frame. "Why shouldn't there be?"

"Well –"

"And by the way, where should I leave my clothes? Should I leave them in the wardrobe or what?"

"Your _clothes_?" asked Pepper even more stunned.

"Yeah, for when I spent the night here. I don't mind bringing them every time, but still I think it would be better if I leave some things here, you know?" he said as he took out the last pancake and turned off the stove.

"Whoa, hold your horses! What makes you think there would be a _next_ time?" Pepper asked puzzled.

"What makes you think there won't be?" Pepper opened her mouth to protest, but Tony cut her off. "Let's eat, shall we? Pancakes are tastiest when warm." Tony took off the apron and gave her a peck on the cheek.

Pepper just stood there with her mouth open. She did as she was told – she sat at the table and took off a bite. "Wow, Tony, they are amazing!" was the only thing she could say and then she took another big bite.

"Of course they are! Have you doubted?" he said with a grin as he sat next to her.

"Well…" she started. His grin immediately got lost and she smiled at him.

"You have toothpaste oh your shirt, Pep. Better take it off…"

"Did you put on your shirt when I asked you?"

Tony reached, took his gray T-shirt and quickly put it on. Then he looked at her and said "your turn."

"Yeah, right" she laughed a little bit and then proceeded to her second pancake.

They ate in silence for couple of minutes and Tony decided to bleak the awkward silence. "You know what I realized last night?"

"What?"

"I _love_ you, Pepper." Tony said in half a breath.

"Wh -"

"I_ love_ you. And I have for some time now." He stood up and started walking around the room, not looking at her. Pepper was stunned. She dropped her napkin and she had no intentions of picking it up. "I really wish you feel the same way, but even if you don't I want you to know that I care deeply for you. You can count on me at any moment. I always will be there when you need me, I'll always save you. I cannot live without you. You are the only person that stayed with me long enough to understand me. You are the most amazing woman I have ever met. You look stunning even in your PJs, you are smart, you always know what to do, you always know what is right…" He finally stopped walking in circles, leaned against the table and looked at her. They stayed like that for a few seconds. "If you want me to leave all you have to do is say so, you know. I will understand if you don't feel like that towards me. All I wanted to do is tell you how I see you and how much you mean to me."

"Tony" Pepper started, but her heart was in her throat. She didn't know how to continue.

"Yes, Pepper?"

"I have nothing to say to you." He felt his whole world crashed. That was like a nightmare for him. She had nothing to say to him? Nothing? Not even _'thank you for your kind words, but no'_? He slowly turned her back to her. He decided to wait until she leaves the room to leave as well. He won't be able to stand the pain if looked at her. Tony heard her chair creek and that sound was followed by a few steps. He thought she finally left so he turned around only to find her standing in front of him. Was she smiling?

"I have nothing to say to you, because there are _no_ words to describe how I feel about you" she whispered loud enough for him to hear.

She took his face in her arms and kissed him. At the first moment Tony didn't knew what to do. He just stayed there like a statue, not moving, his eyes gazing at the wall. Soon enough everything made sense, so he answered the kiss. He took Pepper in his embrace and kissed her even more passionately. Everything seemed right, it wasn't strange, it wasn't awkward. It was just right. Pepper, not breaking the kiss, sat on the table and slowly started lowering her body. Tony followed her and soon he was on top of her.

"Wait" he stopped. "Do you really want _this_? Are you _sure_?"

Pepper didn't answer. She only kissed him again. The fact that the womanizer Tony Stark was actually asking her if she wanted this to happen reassured her that he, that_ they_ were ready for the next step.

* * *

_Soo, how was it? Please review. You know, reviews make the author happy and happy author updates faster! ;)_


	15. You are not dreaming

It was 4:30 in the afternoon. Pepper was lying in her bed, cuddled in Tony. They watched the ceiling in silence, too scared to say something so that they don't ruin the moment. Pepper was actually feeling his heartbeat – so even, so relaxed, so matching to hers… She still couldn't believe what has just happened. And what bothered her most was that it felt completely right and natural. Now they were cuddling. She wouldn't believe it if she hadn't seen it – _Tony Stark cuddling_. She had caught him numerous times leaving his bedroom in the morning before his night's 'catch' wakes up. But this – this was something new. He was there. And not because he expected to get laid again but because he just wanted to be with her. Tony simply wanted to hold her, to talk to her, so see her smile, to made her laugh, to hear her voice, to be able to say how much he loves her…

"This is nice" Pepper decided to break the silence.

"Yes, it is." Tony kissed her forehead as she looked at him.

"It feels right, you know? It's not weird… It's like it was meant to happen." Tony did not say anything so she continued. "But you know what I'm most scared of?"

"The paparazzi?" he guessed with a laugh.

"No. I'm most afraid that when you walk out of that door" she shifted on her elbows and was now looking at him "everything might get back to the way it was. I feel like I'm dreaming and _Ouch!_ Why did you pinch me?"

He leaned forward and kissed her. "To assure you that you're not dreaming. Trust me, I cannot live without you. And this _will_ be."

She cuddled back "I really hope so."

"_We_ will be. But I want to take it slow" Tony said and got a puzzled look from her.

"Isn't it a little late for that?"

"No." He kissed the top of her head. "It is not. I don't want to mess things up. I want us to have a stable relationship. I want us to first be friend and then lovers. Believe it or not, I want us to be like crazy in loved teens."

"Care to explain that statement of yours, Mr. Stark?" Pepper joked and shifted once more so that she would be able to see him.

"I want us to go to the movies, to eat ice cream while taking a walk in the park, I want us making out in every possible place and time, I want us to be able to talk to each other for everything and not to have secrets from each other" he took a breath and smiled. "I don't want us to be that boring gray couple that finally admitted what they feel and now take each other for granted."

She started laughing. "What?" said Tony amazed. "What are you laughing at?"

"So, let me get this straight. You want us to start from the very beginning, if I can call it that?"

"Well, yeah, you could say that. For example, when I leave I will wait 3 days before calling you and asking you on a date. You'll say yes and I'll come to pick you up at 8, you'll look amazing and I'll be bringing you flowers. Then, at the end of the evening I'll escort you to your apartment like a gentleman and I will leave. After that you'll start panic if you had done everything right and I'll call you another 3 days later to ask you on a second date."

"And let me guess" she cut him off "I'll say yes."

"Well, of course. And after the second one, we'll go on a third on which you'll invite me in and I'll spend the night here. I'll make you breakfast in the morning and we'll cuddle a bit longer and then I'll leave only so that I can visit you for lunch at the office and surprise you."

"You have given a lot of thinking on this, haven't you?"

"Not that much, actually. I just know what I want."

"What else have you imagined?" asked Pepper like a little kid who was told only half of the fairytale.

"Well" he started as he found her way on top of her and started kissing her neck. "I imagine someday you'll walk towards me in the most beautiful white dress and I'll get to kiss you and call you _mine_ for the rest of our lives." His lips found its way down to her belly "and I also imagine you giving me the most beautiful baby girl in the whole damn world. She'll have your eyes and your smile."

"Wait a second! I want a boy..." Pepper tried to protest but lost her ability to speak when Tony's lips went further south. God, she loved him! And she wanted all of this to come true one day. Yes, she could imagine herself being Mrs. Stark one day. "Hey, what happened to taking it slow?"

"We can start tomorrow. Or if you want I can stop now and –"

"No, no! Tomorrow is good."

"That's what I thought" he chuckled.

* * *

Two hours later Tony was sitting on Pepper's bed, fully clothed, putting on his socks. She was in the kitchen, cleaning up pancakes and chocolate sauce from the floor. Tony, now placed his backpack and his pillow in her closet, went to the kitchen in order to help with the cleaning because it was their mess, after all. "Pepper, about what you said earlier, I want to reassure you that the things are going to change for the better" he hugged her from behind and placed a kiss on her neck. "I want you to know that if thing don't work out, which I highly doubt, you can always rely on me. I love you and I don't say it to fill the sentence. I really do -"

Pepper turned around and kissed him in order to shut him up. "I love you too, Tony. By the way, there are a few more hours until tomorrow" she put on her devilish smile.

"I know and I'm _on_ it!" He grabbed her and took her to the couch in bridal style while kissing her. "We also haven't tried the bathroom, you know?" he asked her, but did not wait for answer. With a loud _'Shrak'_ Pepper lost her T-shirt and soon she lost herself in the moment.

"_Ow!_ Wait!" she yelled and Tony panicked. Had he hurt her? Oh, no. Was this too much for her?

"What happened?" he jumped from her and looked at her in panic.

"The stupid remote" she said as she pulled it out from under her "was stabbing me in the back. Now _please_ continue" and she took off his shirt and pulled him down towards her.

For her surprise he picked her up once again in bridal style "let's proceed to the shower, shall we?"

She laughed. "Fine, but you are paying my bill."

He did not answer. His mouth was busy, investigating every inch of her body and she did not complain. Maybe tomorrow was _too soon_, huh?


	16. Phone call

Tony was caring Pepper bridal style to her bathroom. He was able to knock down everything on their way but did not seem to notice. He was kissing her neck, her lips, her arms… They entered the small, pinkish room and as if someone was planned the course of action he banged her head at the door frame and hit the washbasin with her legs.

"Sorry, Pep" he muffed in-between kisses.

"You can put me down now, Tony" she said as he lowered her. They were both shirtless by that time and Tony pushed her under the shower. They started making out, his hands traveling all across her body, her fingers tangled in his hair. He unzipped her shorts and pushed them down. Her jeans found their way to her ankles and she kicked them away. Pepper was now standing only in her underwear, her lips still locked with Tony's. He took a step back and pulled his jeans down along with one of his socks, leaving only his boxers on. He bended to take off the second sock and when he got up, he hit his head in one of the shelves. A numerous bottles were sent to the floor as half of them spilled.

"Are you okay?!" Pepper asked panicked.

"I'm peachy!" he answered quickly as he grabbed her once more. Just then he slipped and met the floor with his six, dragging Pepper down with him. Ironically enough, the second shelf decided it was time to break and a new set of bottles found their way down, hitting them.

"Ok, I think we're done here" Tony said defeated and Pepper stood up and looked around.

"Yeah, if you want sex in the bathroom, we're gonna use yours."

"Deal" he sat up and took his jeans.

* * *

Half hour later they were both in the living room, sitting on the couch, staring at the wall. Pepper's back felt as if it was broken and Tony held an ice-pack on his head.

"Well, the couch does not seem so bad right now, does it?" Tony asked with hope in his eyes.

"Suit yourself. I can't move." Pepper said and looked mockingly at him.

"We look like a boring old couple that is too tired of everything" he stated with even voice.

"Don't say that. Just because my bathroom is small does not mean that we can't have fun."

"Well no, but –" his lips were met by Pepper's. He hated and loved when she did this. He put one of his arms on her face and with the other one he was still holding the ice on his head. Being a genius, Tony understood where this was going, so he laid back and dropped the ice pack on the ground. The strawberry blonde put her legs around him and was now half-laying, half-sitting on top of him.

"I thought your back was killing you" he said mockingly.

"I'm a fast healer. I thought you preferred a company, but if you want to proceed solo –"

"I believe you" he muttered quickly.

"Thought so. So, how boring are we now?" Pepper said, feeling herself getting lost in the moment. He was kissing her neck. Again. What was with him and her neck anyway.

"Never said we were boring" he continued with his exploring.

"Actually that was exactly what you –" Oh, Gosh! And he could do that only with his tongue?

As if the fate's bad joke, his phone rang. Strangely enough he stopped and pushed her up. "Gotta go!"

"What?"

"I have to go" he said once more.

"Why?" by that time he was standing up and fixing his shirt.

"Because it is 8 o'clock. If I stay any longer it will count as spending the night here and I don't want that. Remember the _'taking it slow'_ part?" he put on his jacket and headed for the door.

"But…" Pepper was speechless. He turned, gave her a kiss on the lips, took his phone from the coffee table and left. She just stood there, open mouthed, not believing what she had just seen. Ten seconds later she heard her prone ringing. Of course, it was Tony, who else would be calling her at that time and at that timing? "What?" she answered.

"I wanted to ask you if you would like to go out on a date with me" his voice came through.

"Tony, I can still hear you outside my door."

"No, you can't"

"Yes, I can. The elevator just opened."

"What elevator?" he was indeed stubborn.

"Yes, Tony I will go out on a date with you" she finally gave up.

"Great! I'll be picking you up on Friday, be ready at 7:30 and wear something comfortable. Love you! Bye!" and with that he hung up.

'Yeah, love you too…' she thought to herself.


	17. First date

It was Friday. The Friday. It was the day of their first date. _'I'll be picking you up on Friday, be ready at 7:30 and wear something comfortable' _he said. Pepper was walking in circles around her living room. She was in her underwear, not sure what to do. She tried calling him for a hint about where he was taking her, but he didn't answer his phone. She knew from experience that he could be indeed crazy, so she was worried._ 'Wear something comfortable'._ She was feeling pretty comfortable three days ago in her PJs, in her bed with him. But what did this mean? What was comfortable according to him? Did he mean casual, like they were going to the movies or did he mean comfortable, like they were going to dance all night long, or maybe -. Her train of thoughts was interrupted by the doorbell. Oh Gosh, he was here. She quickly put on her bathrobe and decided to see how he was dressed in order to pick her outfit. Needless to say, she had already tried on every single piece of clothing that wasn't a business suit that she owned but nothing seemed to satisfy her, so she left them scattered on her bed. She opened the door and lost her ability to speak. There was a huge bouquet of white roses and what seemed to be a man behind the flowers.

"Virginia Potts?" asked the middle aged man, peeking behind the roses.

"Yes, that's me" she stood literally open-mouthed.

"Please sign here" he said as he gave her a form and a pen. Pepper signed quickly and took the roses. She turned to wish the man goodbye, but he was already gone.

Pepper put the roses in water. They were emitting a very delicate smell. Pepper was a little card between the flowers and took it. She really couldn't remember the last time she had received flowers. She opened the card and red_ 'To my lovely Pepper. I'll be waiting for you in the winter park, by the fountain exactly in an hour, love Anthony.'_ Anthony? Since when was he Anthony? He always signed documents like T. Stark or even The Starker, but he never used his full name.

Pepper looked to the clock. It was showing 7:45 pm. That meant she had 45 minutes to get ready and reach the winter park. She felt like Cinderella. There were butterflies in her stomach and a huge lump in her throat. She entered her bedroom and sat on the armchair. He was waiting for her in a park, so it won't be something too elegant. So far, so good – the dresses and the highest heels are off. That left her with 4 pair of jeans and a bunch of pretty tops. She decided on the lightest pair, a purple long sleeved top with a V-neck and dark gray knee high boots. She pulled her hair in a ponytail and headed for the door. She had no idea what was waiting for her in the park, though.

* * *

35 minutes later she got off the bus and headed for the park. She saw a candle next to the bus stop and another one a few meters further. Needless to say, the candles were there to light her path and as closer she got to the fountain, the more candles were there. Finally she saw him. Tony was next to the big round fountain, dressed in jeans and sports jacket, holding another white rose with a small smile on his face that touched Pepper's heart. She started tearing up and Tony lost his smile. He quickly went to her and took her hand in his.

"Hey, Pep, is everything ok? Did I mess up something? I knew the candles were too much!"

"No, everything is perfect, Tony" she kissed him. "This is perfect."

"Glad you like it. Now may we proceed to our so-called date?" he gave her the rose, which she took with a smile, took her hand and took her to the fountain. She hadn't noticed before, but it was frozen. She looked at him puzzled but he was handing her a pair of ice skates. Then it hit her! She had made the mistake of telling him that she wanted to try ice skating ever since she watched _'The cutting edge'_ a few years ago.

"I can't skate, Tony."

"Don't worry, I'll hold your hand, Pep" he said quickly, kissed her forehead and sat down to put on his skates.

"There is no way I'm getting out of this, is it?"

"Nope" he had already put on the skates. "Want some help?"

"Sure" Pepper told him and she sat down. He took of her left boot quite gently and slid the skate on. She was indeed feeling like Cinderella at this point.

"Ready to go?" he asked her, offering his hand to her.

"No…"

"Agh! Wrong answer!" Tony lift her up "Now nice and easy" he pointed the ice.

"Since when you are specialist on ice skating?"

"Come on, I fly almost every day in a suit. How hard can this beee – _'Thug!'_" he found the ice with his six. "Okay, it's hard and slippery."

"Are you okay?"

"Just great! Wanna help me get up?"

"Well, I want to, but I can't. Not unless you want me to fall on top of you in the process."

He pretended to think her statement true "I can live with that."

"I don't doubt. Now please get up."

He first sat, than got on his knees. After that he stepped with his right foot, than with his left. He slowly stood up and smiled at her. At the very next moment he was behind her, his hands on her waist. "Now, follow me. Right foot, okay. Now left, ok, slowly, slowly. Now right again. Now left. Right, left, right, left. No, no, no, the other left – _'Thug!'_". Tony landed once again on his six but this time with Pepper on top. "I told you I can live with that."

She kissed him, her hands behind his neck, his hand holding her close to him. "Thank you, Tony."

"You're welcome!" He kissed her again and when they broke the kiss he asked "For what?"

"For making this dream of mine comes true. You are amazing!" Just as she headed for another kiss she heard a police serene in the background. "Tony, do you have something to tell me?"

"Well, to tell you – no, but to ask you – yes. How fast can you run with ice skates?"

"What? Tony what did you do this time?"

"Well, I asked if I could borrow their fountain for the evening and…"

"Let me guess. They said no, but you did it after all?"

"Pep, you know my motto – _listen, smile, agree and then do whatever you were going to do anyway_."

"Why do I still _love_ you?"


	18. I'm a killer!

Tony was in his room, taking a nap. What was with that naps lately?

He always made fun of those saying that they can't eat, sleep or do anything normal when they are in love. But was he now one of these people? He couldn't bring himself down to the workshop, he even was wondering if he still remembered how to use screwdriver. Just as he was snoozing off, he heard his phone ringing. The thought alone that this can be Pepper calling shot him right up and out of bed. And guess what! Pepper was calling him.

"Hello."

"Hey, Tony. Look, I'm alone at my apartment and the lights went off. Usually I would go to the basement and make them work again, but now, since now I have a boyfriend I wanted to ask you if you want to give me a hand with that" little did she know, he was already putting on his jacket.

"Sure, Pep, I'm on my way."

"Great. Be careful, though. It's not pretty outside."

"What do you mean?"

"The storm of the century is having fun outside for merely 2 hours now. What have you done for the last couple of hours? No, actually, I don't want to know."

"You're right. It is awful outside. Still, I'm on my way."

"If you want, later we could watch a movie and cuddle on the couch with big bowl of popcorns."

"Sound like a second date!"

"Yes, but that's only if you don't use flying to come to my place."

"Damn it! Jarvis, turn around" he could actually hear her laugh.

* * *

Pepper was standing next to her kitchen window with a hot cup of tea in her hands and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. What was with her lately? She has always been a person that can take care of herself. But now? Now she wanted to stick to that '_damsel in distress_' look. Ever since she got in a relationship with Tony she would call him for the silliest things. Yeah, he would say 'yes' automatically, but still… The doorbell rang and she stood up to open the door. Yet she didn't leave neither the blanket, nor the tea.

"Hey, Tony. You really came very fast. You sure you haven't used the suit?"

"Pep, I would never lie to you! The suit is home."

"Hmm, you lied to me the last 3 times you came. And you have at least 4 suits at the time being."

"No suit, I swear!"

"You are telling the truth" he had entered in the living room by that time.

"Wait, you have a way of telling if I lie or not?"

"Of course, Tony" she gave him a flashlight and a screwdriver.

"Please, enlighten me on that subject."

"If you are talking about the lying, there in no way I will tell you anytime soon. And if you're not, there is a big yellow box in the basement, it is on the wall, right on your left. Use the screwdriver to remove the coder and do your magic inside, iron man." She leaned and kissed him on the cheek.

"Is that all I'll get?"

"Yes. Now off you go"

* * *

10 minutes later the lights went on. Pepper simply smiled. She went in the kitchen and put a packet of popcorn in the microwave. After that she went in the living room and put 'X-men' in the DVD player. At the same time Tony walked in.

"Go wash your hands and bring the popcorn on your way back."

"Yes ma'am!" he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "By the way, what are we watching? Some sappy romance comedy?"

"X-men."

"Sweet! That's a great movie!"

"Well hurry up! It already started."

"Here I am." He was next to her on the couch and put his arm around her shoulders. She spread the blanket over both of them. After that she put her legs on the couch and her head on his shoulder. He couldn't help but stroke her peppermint scented hair. They watched in silence, both happy with each other presence.

Suddenly Pepper jumped and ran to the bathroom. She shut the door closed and locked it. Tony ran to there as well. "Pepper, what's wrong?" He did not get an answer, but from the sound of it she was throwing up. "Pep, is everything ok?"

"Now it is…" she said as she turned on the water and took her toothbrush. "I'll be out in a sec."

"Don't worry, take your time. Are you sure you are fine?"

"Yes, Tony" she opened the door and got out. "I have been feeling a bit under the weather all day. My head hurt and I just threw up for _fifth_ time today. And you see what happened now? I killed the evening. I'm a killer!"

"Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I didn't what you to worry. And it is probably a stupid 24-hours virus –" and he had already gone in his super-protective mode.

"I dot care what it is. You are going in your bed and you are going to have some sleep. I'm making you a chicken soup. I'm spending the night on the couch and first thing tomorrow we are going to the doctor" and he definitely wasn't kidding. Pepper simply nodded and went in her bedroom.

"Tony, please be careful in the kitchen!"

"That's not the sound of you sleeping!"

* * *

**Ta-daa! I know I had completely forgotten about the story guys, but I have been planning a great surprise for you! Juuuust wait a bit longer!**


	19. April fool's day - a baby on the way?

It was 4 o'clock in the morning. Pepper was silently sleeping in her bedroom while Tony was fidgeting on the couch. The man was genius so it took him very little time to realize what was happening. Pepper was probably pregnant. And it was 100% sure that the child was his. The throwing up, the headaches… that was no virus. Pepper hardly ever got sick and even if she did, she never seemed to care. She always said that she had too much work to do and she didn't have time to lie around playing sick. So she must be pregnant. He turned around for you another time and decided he won't get any sleep tonight. He sat up. _'Ok, a baby. But that is not how it happens. It comes moving together-marriage-baby, not baby-probably moving together-marriage.'_ And then it hit him! Marriage! He loved Pepper for quite some time now, he could see himself marrying her. And having a baby with her. And then probably 2 more. He stood up and went to Pepper's bedroom. He gently opened the door and saw her – the perfection itself. Sleeping so peacefully, the mother of his child.

"Psst, Pepper, are you sleeping" he whispered. No answer. "Psst, Pep!" come now loud enough for her to hear.

"What do you want, Tony?" the half-asleep grumpy Pepper answered.

"I wanted to check on you. Feelin' better?" he now realized waking her up was a mistake.

"Tony, I'm fine. Go back to sleep."

"Ok, but I wanted to ask you something…"

"Fine. Ask. I'll answer. Then we both go back to sleep. What is it?"

"Uhm… Will you marry me?"

"Tony, April's Fool's Day is at least 4 months away. I don't know what has gotten in your head, but please let me go back to sleep."

"Sure, Pep, just hear me out." By that time he had sat on her bet and turned her reading lamp on.

"Ok, I'm awake now. What do you want?"

"I want to marry you, Pepper! Because I love you! And I'll love even more our child!"

"Wait a minute. Tony, what are you talking about? What child –" and then it hit her! "But we used protection, didn't we?"

"I didn't. I thought you were on a pill, since you didn't say anything..."

"I didn't say anything because you were womanizer number 1 last year and I thought you knew what you were doing! A pill?! I haven't had a boyfriend for at least 6 years! I was so busy with work I didn't have time for that! Why would I be taking a pill if I don't have a boyfriend?!" she was literally yelling at him right now.

"Pepper, calm down, we made a very stupid mistake, but it is our mistake and we will love him" Tony had now gotten under the covers and was hugging her. Soon enough they were both laying down, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her, his hand on her belly, both starring in the ceiling. A baby on the way? They weren't ready for that!

"What if it's a girl?" Pepper asked from nowhere.

"We would love her, but I bet it's a boy."

"Tony…"

"Yes, Pep?"

"Would you get dressed and go down to the drug store?"

"I thought you'll never ask!" he literally jumped out of the bed and ran to the living room.

* * *

Pepper was waiting for him in the kitchen. A baby?! Could this really be happening? They weren't ready for a kid. What would everybody think? And the press?! And did he really ask her to marry him? Tony stark wanted to get married? Well, that was definitely something. But did he really want it? Or was it because of the baby? She was indeed 2 weeks late but she thought it was because she was getting down with the flu or something. But _a baby_? She has never thought about having a family and kids. And what is more, she never thought having family and kids with Tony. _And now she was probably pregnant._

Right then Pepper realized her hands were wrapped protectively around her belly. A baby won't be so bad, would it? She could picture herself walking to the isle, walking with that beautiful white dress to Tony. She could picture herself rushing into the hospital in the middle of the night with Tony, him arguing with the nurses for private room. She could picture herself holding that bundle of joy while Tony kissing her forehead. She not only imagined all that and more, she wanted it. Yes, they weren't ready, but they never would be. She loved him, he loved her. There was nothing stopping them. _And now she was probably pregnant._

* * *

Tony was sitting on a bench, right in front of the drug store. He wanted a second to rethink things over once again. _Pepper was probably pregnant._ He was probably going to be a dad 9 or 8 months from now. Wow, a dad?! That sounded weird. _Weird but right._ He was going to be a dad. He was going to take his beautiful wife and his child home from the hospital one day and -. But Pepper never said_ 'yes'_, did she? What is he had scared her? What was he thinking? A marriage?! Pepper never said she wanted to get married… Tony stood up and entered the drug store.

* * *

Pepper was sitting on the couch, starring in the door, her legs crossed, hands still around her belly. Tony opened the door and looked at her. She gave him a genuine smile.

"Yes!"

"Yes what?"

"Yes, Tony, I'll marry you. That is if the offer is still –" she lost her ability to speak. Her lips were occupied with his.

"Of course it is, Pep! I love you. And even if there is no baby on the way I still want to marry you!" he kissed her on the forehead, on the nose and on the lips.

"Did you buy it?"

"Here it is" he gave her a small white package. She took it and went in the bathroom. Tony was so stunned, be couldn't even focus enough to take off his jacket. Pepper came back a minute later, holding the small white stick in hand.

"Are we pregnant?!" he couldn't help but ask. _'Are we pregnant?'_ That sounded again weird. Again, _weird and right_. They were a team now.

"We have to wait a little bit" she said as she left the stick on the coffee table. She sat next to him and he took her hand in his.

"Look, Pep. No matter if there is a baby or not, I love you and I want to marry you. I want to start a family with you. And -"

"Tony, you already said that like 3 or 4 times. I love you, too. And believe it or not, I want a baby. I want a baby with you." She leaned forward and he met her halfway.

"Can we look now?"

"I think so..." Tony took the test and they both looked at it. And _oh, thank God_!

* * *

**How was it? Too cheesy? Yeah, I also think I wrote them a bit OOC…**

**Happy holidays everybody!**


	20. Are you really sick or?

"Is that what you want?" asked Pepper, her voice so innocent, her eyes so honest, her lips forming a little, almost not visible. But not for Tony. He knew her like the back of his hand. It was as if she was saying to him_ 'That is what I want.'_ And even if he wanted, he couldn't let her down – that is what he want as well.

"Yes." It was a simple word. But it meant for Pepper the world. He wanted this, she wanted this… It was perfect!

"So, we are having a baby then." That wasn't even a question. Pepper simply summarized the past events. They were having a baby! Tony Stark was going to be a father; she herself was going to be a mother. "Still, we have to check with a doctor. You know, these things are only 95% accurate."

"We are going to the doctor the first thing tomorrow! And we are going there every single week. I do not want anything wrong with my little Jeremy." Tony had his hands around Pepper's belly once again. And the weirdest part was that he was talking not to her, but to her stomach. "And what is more, I don't want anything wrong with my future wife."

"Tony, I'm also feeling a bit over the top. But please don't get so excited. For what we know it might be false alarm. And –"

"Don't you _dare_ say that, Pepper! We are having a baby. I'm this close to calling a doctor in here. I don't care its 5:30 in the morning!" he wasn't exactly yelling but Pepper knew she has started with the wrong foot.

"Ok, Tony, I get it. Now let's get some sleep. Tomorrow morning I'll call sick again and we are going to the hospital. But right now I'm exhausted, so please let's go back to bed." She said in almost wining voice. Tony was staring at her belly, not letting go of it. "Tony, did you hear me?"

He suddenly snapped of his trance. "Yeah, sure, let's go to bed." He kissed her, took her arm and let her to the bedroom.

"And by the way, Tony, this could be a girl. Why are you so sure it's a boy?" she was getting under the covers as Tony finally took off his jacket.

"Because I want a boy. And I always get what I want." He slid next to her and took her in his arms protectively. "And if the little Emily comes now, not the little Jeremy, we are still going for 3 kids, right?" he kissed the back of her head.

"Ok, Tony, first I already told you I don't like the name Emily. I'm partly on board with Jeremy, but forget about Emily. My 8th grade physics teacher was named Emily Simpson and I hated her. So no Emily! Second, I'm not a machine for babies. Let's see how this one turns out and we'll think about second later. And finally I really think it's cute that you have planned our family life, but I want my saying too. Now, good night."

"But I really like Emily!"

"I said good night. Forget about Emily. I want to have at least 2 more hours of sleep." She said and he knew that was final. So, no Emily… ok, he had a dozen more names picked. He sniffed her peppermint scented hair and let out a sigh.

"Good night, Pep." He knew that he won't have any sleep that night already. "So, what do you think of Katherine?"

"Tony, I'm this close of kicking you out of my bed, so if you don't want to sleep on the couch shut up! And I don't like Katherine." He could say that she was already half asleep.

"Jessica?"

"No"

"Anna? _Ouch!_" she was kicking pretty well for a pregnant half-asleep lady. "Good night, honey." He kissed the back of her head once more and snoozed off.

* * *

Tony was lying on the bed, drooling all over the pillow. He made an effort to open his eyes and check the alarm clock. 8:30 am. Good. Another 30 minutes before Pepper barged in his room and _'politely'_ asked Jarvis to turn on the lights. But wait a second! That wasn't his room! Oh, that's right. He came to visit Pepper last night. And then she got sick… Oh, Gosh! That's right. He turned around but didn't see his pregnant wife-to-be! Where was she?! Oh, something terrible could have happened to her that night. And that is with him sleeping next to her?! What kind of father and husband he would be? Just as he literally jumped out of bed he heard Pepper's sweet voice. She was definitely on the phone with somebody. Who was she talking to? Oh, right, last night she said she would call in sick for the day. Tony decided to play asleep and listen to the conversation.

_"Ok, Patrice, I won't lie to you, I'm not really sick, but I have to go to the hospital today…"_ Patrice was Pepper's secretary/personal assistant and from what Tony had seen, they really clicked together._ "…yes, he is here, but… NO! What do you think… Yes, it was kind of a second date… NO!"_ ok, that _'no'_ came in highly pitched voice, which only meant Pepper was lying about something._ "…it's not to be told on the phone, Patrice… no… no… Ok, I'm gonna stop you right there. Let's have coffee this afternoon and… no… do you even hear me?... ok, 2 o'clock…got it! Bye!... yes, I already told you he is here…"_ Pepper was trying to whisper, but that was pointless. Tony had gotten out of bed, the door was slightly open and she could see his ear. _"…oh, no, Patrice, he is awake now, wanna say hi?"_ Tony now opened the door, looking shocked, slightly shaking his head. _"…He doesn't want to talk to you either. Bye."_ And with that Pepper hung up and looked expectantly at him.

"Soo, I get you have plans for the afternoon?" he started unsure of what was following. He was guilty of eavesdropping and he was looking at his not gotten enough sleep, pregnant, with crazy hormones wife-to-be.

"Yes, I wanna get out of this apartment and to have a walk in the park. Yes, I know what you are going to ask me, I'm meeting Patrice for lunch, but I'm not going to tell her anything. Now get dressed, we have to go to the hospital." Pepper brushed right next to him and returned in the bedroom. "I'm going to take a shower; you get dressed and please don't make a mess! You can watch TV if you want."

"Good to know. By the way… Patrice?"

"No, Tony, I'm not naming our baby after my best friend!" wow! Did she just say _'our baby'_?! Oh, my Gosh! They were going to have a baby! She felt the panic slowly finding her way up and so did Tony.

"Pep, relax. Remember what you told me once?" She was sitting on the bed and he was right in front of her on his knee. "Small steps! First go and take a shower – that doesn't sound so scary, does it? You do it every day! Then get dressed. That is not hard to do as well. After that we'll go downstairs and we'll get a cab like two normal people." She smiled.

"Thank you, Tony. Soon or later I'm going to get very scared about that baby. I'm going to be a mother! And –"

"And I'm going to be a father. I'll be right next to you on every step, on every feeding, on every diaper if you want. But now we have to do something else…"

"Yes, we have to go to the hospital." She sighed with relief. "Thank you for being here."

"Actually I was talking about this." He reached under his pillow and took out a small velvet box. It's needless to say that there was a ring inside. "Pepper, I know you already said _yes_, but I wanted to make it official." He slid the ring on her finger and looked her in the eyes. She was indeed speechless for a short period of time. "Now you can say we are engaged!"

"Did you bought that last night?" she asked confused.

"No, I bought it several months ago. See, I've always known that we'll end up together. I've been carrying it around since that evening we slept together. I love you, Pepper. I always have!" she had tears in her eyes. Tears of joy, that is. "Now, I know your hormones are crazy, so I'm not letting you cry. You know I've always loved you and I know you love me. Now please go take a shower so that we go to the hospital." They stood up. He hugged her, kissed her and hold her for a bit.

* * *

Tony was walking in circles around the room. Pepper was dressed in white hospital gown and was sitting on a bed. There were a bunch of machines next to her and they were waiting for the doctor.

"Tony, please sit down, you are making me nauseous!" Pepper finally said after 5 minutes waiting in silence.

"Are feeling ok? Do you need something?! A blanket? Ice? Sugar? Just say it!" he had gone in his overprotective mode once again.

"First, I want you to relax, I'm fine. Second, SIT DOWN!" Tony suddenly lost the ability to speak and sat on the chair on his left. Just then doctor Roberts walked in.

"Hello, Miss Roberts" Tony started as he stood up and shook the doctor's hand. "I'm Tony, this is my wife-to-be Pepper, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Stark, Miss Potts" the lady shook both Pepper and Tony's hands. "Shall we?" she pointed to the bed. Pepper laid down and Tony took her arm. Soon enough they were told they were having a healthy baby. Pepper was 5 and a half weeks pregnant by that time. The only problem was a very strange like echo noise.

"Hear that?" the doctor asked. The happy couple nodded, too scared to say something. The saw their baby for the first time and that were both madly in love with it. Soon enough they heard its hearth – it sounded so fragile. "I want to make some tests, just to be sure, but don't worry, you are having a very healthy baby from what I can see."

That was all they wanted to hear._ They were having a healthy baby._

"I want to see you at the end of the week, Miss Potts." Pepper nodded and smiled weakly. "You are free to go. Do you want a moment before –"

"Yes, please!" Tony interrupted. He wanted to stay here and listen to that heartbeat all day long. The doctor smiled and left them alone.

"Hear that, Pep? That is the sound of life! Of the life that we created. Me and you. We are having a baby!" Tony was staring at the monitor as Pepper put her clothes on.

"Yes, Tony." She said with her most even voice.

"Why aren't you happy and excited?!" he looked at her.

"I am happy. But what about that echo noise? From what we know it can be something awful!" she teared up. Tony rushed to her and hugged her protectively.

"Listen, that doctor said it was not serious. And even if it is, and I'm _not_ saying such a thing, I'll get you, no, I'll get us" he put his hand on her belly "the best possible team of specialist. So I don't want you to worry. Ok?"

"Ok. You always know what to say, don't you?"

And they stayed like that for a few minutes – in each other's arms, smiling to the sound of their baby's heartbeat filling the room. They couldn't be happier. Or that is what they thought…

* * *

_Please tell me how I did! Do you like to-be-parents Pepper and Tony? Or do I write them OOC?! Please say something. You know, reviews make the writer happy and happy writer updates faster! Happy holidays!_


	21. I'm done

It was a beautiful afternoon. Pepper was sitting on a bench in the park waiting for Patrice. Her mind was preoccupied by so many thoughts that she didn't realize she was staring in a young mother with twins. She was getting married. That was the very first thing that popped in her mind. They had to get married before she started to show which gave them around 7 weeks. After 7 weeks she will be married to Tony Stark. Hm…_ Pepper Stark…_ That sounded awful in her head. The young blonde lady Pepper was watching smiled at her as she put her baby twins back in their pram.

"Are you expecting?" suddenly the young mother asked Pepper.

"Excuse me?" Pepper snapped out of her train of thoughts and looked the woman in the eyes.

"Sorry, it is not my business but there is something about future moms that I can't seem to miss. By the way I'm Amy" the twins' mother gave Pepper a warm handshake.

"You can call me Pepper. And yes, you are right. I am expecting." Pepper looked at the peacefully sleeping babies. "They are beautiful."

"Yes, they are. My little Kevin and Kris. They look like angels now, but trust me, this is not work for a single person when they are awake" Amy laughed. "But no matter how hard it is sometimes, it is worthed!"

"You know, at one second I can't wait to have this baby, to hold it and be there for it. But other times I start to feel panicked. What if I'm not mother material? What if I mess up, you know?" Pepper looked at Amy and saw the most understanding look on the other side.

"Honey, I understand you more than you know. I'm not going to lie to you, this feeling never goes off. But remember you are not in this alone. Actually, that is not in my business as well, sorry" the young blonde looked at Pepper apologetically.

"Don't be. I'm definitely not alone in this." Pepper understood it all at that moment. She was not alone. She had Tony, Happy, Rhodey, her mom who still did not know about any of this, her sister, the whole S.H.I.E.L.D. and even Patrice behind her back. She was definitely not alone!

"There comes Rodger, my husband" Amy stood up and took her backpack. "It was nice talking to you, Pepper. I wish you the very best!"

"Nice meeting you too, Amy" Amy… Pepper actually liked that name. Amy Stark. If she was to have a daughter she would probably name her Amy.

Suddenly Pepper felt a bit cold. She took put on her gloves and fixed her scarf a little bit. She was able to keep Stark Industries running pretty much alone for the past years, so how hard would it be to raise a kid? And she would have a lot of help. And the baby will be so loved. And so spoiled, knowing Tony. Just then Pepper saw Patrice walking towards her from the other end of the park. And she was 10 minutes late – so typical for Patrice. Patrice was a short and rounded lady. She had black hair and dark complexion. Yet she was always smiling and was the most cheerful and talkative person with the biggest heart Pepper has ever met.

"Hey, honey! Sorry I'm late, but I can't handle high heels as well as you do" said Patrice out of breath. "If I sit down you won't be able to make me stand up, so let's go to Pete's Diner right away. I'm so hungry I can eat a horse! With some fries and probably some grilled cheese. So come on, let's go!"

"Hi to you too. I'm fine, thanks for asking" Pepper started mockingly.

"Oh, we'll get to there, sweetie. But first tell me about last night. What do you meant by _'kind of second date'_? Was it a date or not? Well it must have been since he spent the night at your place. Come on, I want details. I know he is your boyfriend but he is so smoken hot, you can't blame me for dreaming and sometimes having dreams about –"

"Ohh, God, Patrice, please stop! I don't want to know. And I'm not telling you anything if you don't stop making sexual references towards my boyfriend" Pepper said, obviously joking. She had forgotten how good it felt to have a best friend to who you can tell everything. She and her sister was like that a long time ago, but thay drifted apart eventually. Patrice was looking her in the eyes, doing her best not to say yet another thing. "First, I invited him over in order to have our second date at my place –"

"Yes, at your place, close to your bed and your table and your shower" Patrice was teasing.

"Ok, you deserve me not telling you anything!"

"Oh, come on, you know I'm only teasing. And I know you want to tell me!"

"Yes, I want. So let me talk, will you? Ok, so I invited him over, I played the whole _'damsel in distress'_ thing, I don't even know why I did that, but we ended up on the couch, cuddled together with a bowl of popcorn in between us. Suddenly I got sick, I rushed in the bathroom, I threw up, Tony was a gentleman, I went to bed, he slept on the couch and that's it."

"Oh my Gosh! That is so sweet! I love you, but I'm so jealous of you right now!" By that time they had entered Pete's Diner – their favorite place to have lunch and had sat on their table – a small cozy spot next to the big window. Pepper took off her gloves, unaware that she still had the ring on. Patrice mouth got wide open. "Are you sure that's all that happened, honey?"

"Pretty much yeah, why? " Pepper took off her coat, the ring got tangled in her sleeve and she understood what Patrice wanted to say. "Well, I could have missed some unnecessary details, but –"

"_Unnecessary?_ You call that unnecessary?! As your future bridesmaid I want to know how this happened _ex-act-ly_! My best friend got engaged last night and you call that unnecessary?" Patrice was waving her hands in the air and her voice became quite louder.

"Who said it was an engagement ring and who said you are going to be my bridesmaid?" _'Wrong answer, Pep'_ she thought.

"You just did! Oh, I'm so happy for you! Waiter, a bottle of champagne over here!" she yelled at the staff. "And now tell me how exactly did this happen! And I can say if you are lying, so don't mess with me!"

"Fine! Gosh, you should work like an agent at S.H.I.E.L.D., not like a secretary at Stark Industries. This morning when I woke up he was already in my room, in front of me, on one knee, holding the box. He asked, I said yes, end of story" she was talking so quickly that even she, herself couldn't distinguish her words.

"Geez, you really don't know how to tell a good story, do you?" Patrice took a sip of water. "This is how you should have started:_ 'It was a beautiful morning, the birds were singing, the Sun was shining. I was woken by the smell of pancakes and freshly squeezed orange juice. When I opened my eyes, the room was filled with roses –'_" Patrice was cut off.

"There was neither breakfast nor roses, Patrice. That only happened in your head."

"Yes, but there is no way I could have known that, is there? Yes, I'll get that you are lying, you can't lie to me, but I wouldn't dream of destroying such a beautiful story." Patrice sighed and looked at the window. "When will my magic man show up, Pepper? When will he show up?"

"Oh, come on sweetie, he is there somewhere. I met mine 9 year ago and it took him 8 to realize he loves me, so it is quite possible that you have already met the love of your life but not know it yet." Pepper reached across the table and gently squeezed Patrice's hand. A waiter came at the table along with the champagne, two very beautiful glasses and a note saying _'Congratulations'_.

"May I ask what the occasion is, ladies?" the man asked, opening the bottle.

"My friend right here got engaged this morning!" Patrice yelled happily, stood up and hugged the waiter.

"Well, congratulations are in order. I and all the staff from Pete's diner wishes you the very best!" with that he poured the light liquid in the glasses, left the bottle and left.

"To your happy future!" said Patrice as the glasses clinked. Patrice immediately dried hers while Pepper simply left her glass at the table._ 'Wrong move, Potts!'_ she thought to herself. Patrice's eyes became as big as spoons. "Oh, my Gosh! You are_ pregnant_, aren't you?!"

"Well…" Pepper started, but her best friend already had it all.

"That's why you said you weren't sick but you needed to go to the hospital! And that is why you have been throwing up this last 3 days. How far are you? No, let me guess. If you haven't lied to me, and you haven't, I should have known, you and Tony spent the night together about 4 weeks ago. So, I'm giving you a month, am I right?" Pepper was just sitting there open-mouthed, not knowing what to say.

"Actually, it's 5 and a half weeks" was the only thing that came to her mind.

"Pepper, honey, that is great! Oh, that gives us only 7 weeks to get you married before you start showing and have you thought about names? What do you think of Elizabeth? And I have also –"

"Ok, _I'm done._ Promise me you'll stop talking for at least 5 minutes and I'll tell you everything. Yes, I'll make it a good story and no, you can't tell anyone! Everything started when …"

_The two women kept talking and talking for 3 more hours. Suddenly Pepper did no longer see herself in such a mess. She had her best friend right next to her, ready to plan her wedding and she had her Tony home, ready to give her and this baby all his love._

* * *

Pepper wanted the afternoon off. She wanted to meet her friend, have a walk and who knew what else. Tony decided to have the afternoon all to himself as well. He went to his workshop but nothing seemed to catch his eye. He went upstairs, poured himself a glass of whiskey and sat on the couch.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?" the monotonic voice came over.

"Call Rhodey. Tell him this is urgent."

"I'm calling him, sir. Anything else?"

"No, not for now."

The house was silent once again. The only think that a person could hear was the ice cubes clinging in Tony's glass. 8 minutes later Rhodey barged in out of breath. "What is the emergency, Tony?"

"Relax, Rhodey. Want something to drink?" Tony offered not taking his eyes from the wall in front of him.

"Are you nuts? I drove like a maniac! I thought there was an accident; I thought you were hurt, I thought you were_ dying._ And you asked me to come here because you had no one to drink with?!" he was obviously angry.

"Pepper is pregnant. And we are getting married." Tony spat out, still staring at the wall.

"What?" he was taken aback.

"You heard me."

"Congratulations, Tony! Pour me a drink and tell me when all of this happened." Rhodey said as he sat on the couch.

Tony gave him a glass "we got engaged last night, the baby happened 5 weeks ago and we found out about it last night. Crazy, huh?"

"No, it is not crazy! You are going to be a dad. And a husband. That's every man's dream." Rhodey took a sip. "I too wish to have a family one day, Tony."

"But do you know what that means? No more one-night stands, no more poker nights, no more strip clubs. And you know what the craziest part is?"

"What?"

"I'm willing to give up all of that for Pepper. Hell, I bought and engraved that ring 8 months ago. That was when I said_I'm done_ with all the parties and stupid drunk life. I now want something else from life. I'm going to have a baby and believe it or not, that is exactly what I want! And I'm ready for it, Rhodey." Tony sighed and took a sip.

"I am proud to say that our little Tony had grown up!"

_The two best friends shared what seemed to be a hug and kept talking and talking. Hell, if this wasn't an emergency then what was?_

* * *

Hey, guys. Hope you liked the Patrice character. Yeah, she'll stick up for some time now. In the next chapter you _are going to find out if they are having a boy or a girl_. And there is a **BIG** surprise coming soon, so keep reading. And keep _reviewing if you want faster updates_! No, seriously, please review. This is my first 'not-one-shot' story, soo I really need your opinion. Only 9 more chapters to go, but there is a lot that can happen. _Happy holidays!_


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